What is Lives on the Hill?

The Raleigh property that once housed Dorothea Dix Hospital has had a storied history over the past century and a half: psychiatric hospital, retreat for the vulnerable, home to staff and their families, resting grounds for patients, training facility, center of health care innovation.

Now the property will be turned into a destination park for Raleigh, and people of good will are looking to find a way to properly commemorate all of the things that this lovely piece of land has meant through the generations.

Lives on the Hill seeks to provide an opportunity for many interested parties to come together to discuss how to preserve the legacy of Dorothea Dix, the person and the hospital and all the lives affected by this unique property.

Our goal is to create an impartial – and creative – space for discussion, ideas, input and sharing about all this memorial might encompass.

We aim to convene a forum that allows the many constituencies to meet and mix; to start conversations and relationships that can be carried forward; to create a welcoming environment for all to provide their ideas, suggestions, and to create new ideas to be used by those tasked with creating the actual memorial.

Why NCHN??

• We are an independent, non-partisan, non-profit news organization dedicated to health reporting in NC employing the highest journalistic standards of fairness, accuracy and extensive research.
• We are committed to the free exchange of ideas for public enlightenment so that decisions are based on thorough consideration and creativity.
• We do not have a pre-conceived view of the memorial, nor do we want to drive the conversation in any particular direction. Rather, we’re interested, quite simply, in being a convener for beneficial interchange.