Uncover the often-forgotten history of Long Island’s institutional cemeteries, where thousands of individuals from Long Island's state hospitals and almshouses were laid to rest. Learn about the significant preservation challenges these sites face today, and the ongoing efforts to document them, recover identities, and ensure that those buried are honored with dignity.

Jaime Tirado is a mental health professional, historian, archivist, and historic preservation advocate who specializes in the history of mental health facilities and treatment, institutional design and architecture, and disability history. She is the Co-Executive Director of the Long Island Farm Colony Historical Society and the Letchworth Village Preservation Project which work to preserve the history of several New York State institutions. She also serves as the President of PreservationWorks, a national non-profit organization committed to the preservation of Kirkbride-style asylums across the United States. In addition, she is the author of the new book “The Pilgrim State Hospital: Evolution of the World’s Largest Psychiatric Institution,” which is the first comprehensive documentation of the site available to the public.