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Chrissie Williams and Michael Bell

Chrissie Williams and Michael Bell were longtime friends and chosen family whose relationship began at Harmony House by 1992. Their friendship developed through mutual respect and protection during institutional abuse, became part of a shared household around 1998, and remained active after the household changed.

Overview

Chrissie and Michael treated one another as adults when staff at Harmony House routinely dismissed them. Michael respected Chrissie’s judgment, listened when she said that something was wrong, and used his detailed records to support her and other residents. Chrissie accepted Michael’s formal speech and extensive knowledge of trains without asking him to make himself less precise or less enthusiastic. Each offered the other a form of attention that the institution often withheld.

Their relationship became chosen family through shared daily life. After Michael and Lizzie Henderson joined Chrissie and Jon Williams in a split household around 1998, the four adults shared meals, routines, practical support, and responsibility for one another. Michael later became an uncle figure to Chrissie and Jon’s daughter, Rachel.

Origins

Chrissie and Michael knew one another at Harmony House by 1992, when Lizzie arrived and became Chrissie’s roommate. Michael sometimes approached Chrissie and Lizzie in the common room, offered one precise fact about trains or railroad history, and then left. Chrissie listened, smiled, and answered with “That’s really cool, Michael!” or “That’s so cool!” She did not mock his enthusiasm or treat his knowledge as a problem.

Their friendship deepened under Sharon Mitchell’s administration. Staff characterized Michael as “difficult” and Chrissie as someone who “can’t understand.” Michael recorded mistreatment in notebooks, including 307 punishments imposed on Lizzie for falling asleep outside her assigned bed during the twenty-four months before Sharon’s termination. After Sharon confiscated his notebooks twice, he reconstructed the records from memory. His documentation also included occasions when staff dismissed Chrissie’s needs.

Chrissie noticed Michael’s distress and asked, “You okay, Michael?” When he described staff wrongdoing, she believed him and answered, “That’s not right. That’s really not right.” Michael, in turn, noticed when Chrissie was upset or confused, explained information more concretely when he could, and sought help from supportive staff such as Linda Reyes when she needed it.

Transition to Chosen Family

Jon Williams met Chrissie at the library in 1994 and became involved in sustained advocacy around the residents’ treatment and future outside the institution. Jon treated Michael as an intellectual equal, defended him from bullying by fellow resident Derek Williams, and took his documentation seriously. Jon’s life outside institutional care led Michael to ask, “Why is Jon out there and I’m in here?” It was the first time Michael questioned whether he belonged at Harmony House. Chrissie encouraged Michael’s trust in Jon by telling him, “He’s really nice. And really smart, like you!”

Chrissie’s case was approved in late 1995, and she moved into a shared home with Jon. They married later. Her move ended Chrissie and Michael’s daily contact at Harmony House but did not end the relationship.

Around 1998, sustained advocacy and practical work allowed Michael and Lizzie to leave Harmony House. They moved into a split house with Jon and Chrissie, forming a four-adult chosen-family household. The arrangement gave Michael and Lizzie privacy as a couple while restoring their daily relationships with Chrissie and Jon.

Shared Household and Family Roles

Within the shared household, Michael and Chrissie participated in the same meals, routines, and care network. Jon coordinated much of the household’s medical, logistical, and advocacy infrastructure, and home-health support assisted Chrissie and Lizzie. Michael gained greater control over his time and environment while continuing to watch for situations in which Chrissie needed information or assistance.

Chrissie did not require Michael to perform conventional sociability in order to belong. She made room for his train discussions, quiet company, and need for physical space. Michael did not reduce Chrissie to her support needs. He treated her preferences, distress, work, friendships, and responses as meaningful information.

Rachel’s birth in 2001 extended the chosen-family relationship into another generation. Michael became “Uncle Michael.” Babies’ unpredictability initially made him uncertain, but he grew closely attached to Rachel. He read to her about trains and held her carefully while Lizzie rested. Chrissie took pleasure in seeing Michael with her daughter.

Rachel learned about locomotives before she could walk. Michael’s place in her early life made his family role part of Chrissie’s motherhood rather than a title used only between adults.

Dynamics and Communication

Michael spoke formally, used advanced and technical vocabulary, and could explain locomotive engineering or railroad history at length. Chrissie’s spoken language was more concise and concrete, and she sometimes omitted articles, forms of ‘’to be’‘, prepositions, or word endings. She did not always understand every technical detail, but she recognized his enthusiasm and listened without dismissing him. She told him, “You really smart, Michael,” and described him directly: “Michael’s really smart. He knows everything about trains.”

Michael included Chrissie in his interests without treating comprehension as a test of friendship. He also adjusted when practical understanding mattered, using simpler or more concrete explanations without speaking to her as a child. Chrissie valued that distinction, saying, “He’s nice to me. He don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.” Michael described her in equally direct terms: “Chrissie is kind. She listens even when she doesn’t understand,” and “Chrissie is my friend.”

Their sensory and physical boundaries differed. Chrissie was affectionate and liked hugs, while Michael disliked unexpected touch and needed control over his body and personal space. Chrissie learned that he did not want hugs and respected the boundary. They could sit near one another in the common room or later at home without requiring physical contact.

Caregiving and Mutual Support

Michael’s protection often took documentary and observational forms. He preserved evidence of abuse, noticed changes in Chrissie’s behavior, and contacted a trusted staff member when she required help. He did not treat her need for concrete language or processing time as evidence that her adult relationships and decisions mattered less.

Chrissie’s support was relational and immediate. She noticed when Michael was overwhelmed, remained nearby without demanding conversation or touch, and affirmed him when institutional staff denied or minimized what he had observed. Her willingness to listen gave him a place to share both concern and pleasure without masking his autistic communication.

Their support was reciprocal without being identical. Michael’s records and precision helped preserve facts that staff attempted to erase. Chrissie’s belief and acceptance gave those facts a receptive witness and gave Michael companionship that was not contingent on changing how he communicated.

Private Language and Shared Practices

Train facts became a recurring part of their friendship from Harmony House onward. In the later household, Michael sometimes read aloud while Chrissie listened to his voice even when the material itself was difficult for her to follow. They also sat together in companionable silence.

Chrissie shared her smooth stones with Michael. On one occasion, she showed him a blue stone and said, “Look! This one’s really blue!” Michael answered, “That’s excellent color saturation, Chrissie.” She replied, “I don’t know what that means, but thank you!”

Cultural and Community Context

Harmony House separated residents by diagnostic labels and presumed levels of competence, but Chrissie and Michael’s friendship crossed those institutional categories. Chrissie had Down syndrome and autism and needed concrete language, repetition, and processing support in unfamiliar or abstract situations. She also held a library job, maintained close adult relationships, and participated in practiced household routines. Michael was autistic, had an IQ of 142, and possessed extensive knowledge of trains, yet had been institutionalized from age six and labeled difficult when he resisted mistreatment or communicated outside staff expectations.

Within an institution that treated support needs as a hierarchy of human worth, Chrissie and Michael regarded one another as peers who could exercise judgment and offer care. Their friendship rejected staff assumptions that their different disabilities prevented them from understanding, choosing, or valuing one another.

The 1994 investigation and the reforms under interim administrator Dr. Ellen Matsuda improved medical attention, daily routines, and the home’s physical environment. Those changes reduced immediate pressure but did not give either person the autonomy available outside institutional care. Their later household allowed the relationship to operate through chosen contact and shared life instead of staff schedules and behavioral rules.

Shared History and Milestones

By 1992–1995: Harmony House

Chrissie and Michael formed their friendship within Harmony House and protected one another during Sharon Mitchell’s administration. Michael documented neglect and punishment, while Chrissie listened to him, believed his observations, and offered company during distress. The 1994 investigation and subsequent reforms improved conditions but did not end their institutional placement.

Late 1995: Chrissie’s Move

Chrissie moved into a shared home with Jon after her case was approved in late 1995. The move separated her from Michael’s daily life at Harmony House while Jon continued participating in advocacy for Michael and Lizzie.

Around 1998: Shared Household

Michael and Lizzie left Harmony House around 1998 and joined Jon and Chrissie in a split household. Chrissie and Michael could then share meals, quiet time, reading, and ordinary routines without institutional supervision.

2001: Rachel’s Birth

Rachel Elizabeth Williams was born in 2001, with her middle name honoring Lizzie during Lizzie’s lifetime. Michael’s place as Uncle Michael made him part of Chrissie’s family structure as well as her longtime friend.

Approximately 2011–2012: Lizzie’s Death

Lizzie died at home from medical complications when Rachel was ten or eleven. Chrissie, Michael, Jon, and Rachel were with her. Michael lost his partner, and Chrissie lost her closest friend and chosen sister; Chrissie and Michael remained members of the same chosen family after the death. Michael later summarized the connection between their losses: “Lizzie was the woman I loved. Chrissie understood that.”

Winter 2013: Move to Portland

Jon, Chrissie, and Rachel moved to Portland in winter 2013, ending their shared California household with Michael.

Continuing Relationship

Chrissie and Michael remained chosen family after the Williams family’s move to Portland. Their bond included the history they survived at Harmony House, the years they shared a home, Michael’s role in Rachel’s life, and their continuing recognition of one another as friends and family. Michael described their reciprocal loyalty: “She was my friend when I had no one. I was hers when she needed someone. That’s what friends do.”

Lasting Effects

The relationship gave both Chrissie and Michael an adult friendship grounded in respect rather than institutional judgments about disability. Michael’s documentation preserved evidence about Chrissie’s and Lizzie’s treatment, while Chrissie’s trust affirmed that his observations and interests had a place in another person’s life. Their different communication and support needs did not prevent mutual care or durable family ties. Their years in the shared household integrated those commitments into the Williams family’s routines and Rachel’s understanding of kinship.

Relationships Chosen Family Chrissie Williams Michael Bell