Robert Gensiak might have found friends at the Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania, but his family made that impossible.
Robert, who had Down Syndrome, weighed 69 pounds when he died. His mother and two sisters condemned him to a back bedroom of their Taylor home, denying him food and medical treatment while spending the $1,042 monthly state checks meant for his care.
Robert’s voice was never heard.
Today, Arc Executive Director Don Broderick and board members dedicated a plaque to Robert outside the nonprofit’s Meadow Avenue facility.
It reads: “Robert Gensiak, 2013, Every voice shall be heard.”
“We felt so bad for Robert,” Mr. Broderick said. “He didn’t have a voice in life, and we wanted to give him one in death. He suffered tremendously at the hands of his family.”
Robert was 31. The last two years of his life passed in unimaginable misery. His mother, Susan Gensiak, 60, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison for her role in his death. A sister, Joan, 36, got five to 10 years for a neglect charge and one to five years for endangering the welfare of a child. Another sister, Rebekah, 25, testified against her mother and sister and was sentenced to six months to 23 months in Lackawanna County Prison.
As traffic whirred by and a stiff wind kicked up, the Rev. Howard Woodruff, pastor of Elm Park United Methodist Church, referenced Isaiah 1:17, which he said “mandates” all people to seek justice for those who cannot defend themselves.
“We all want to have a voice, we all need to give a voice,” said Rev. Woodruff, who is also a member of the Arc board.
His brother, Robert, has Down Syndrome. He is 50, and living a full, happy life.
Read Chris Kelly’s column on the service in tomorrow’s Times-Tribune.