In a period of 1854 to 1856 she made an effective change in the way Europeans dealt with the mentally ill as she had in the United States." (Bumb, 2005) .

             Her overall contribution to society and those that are mentally challenged becomes apparent when one understands her contribution. When she was almost 40 years old, she reached a pinnacle in her life. "Dorothea Lynde Dix was a woman who accomplished much in her life. She was firstly a teacher and then a social reformer for the treatment of the mentally ill. In her life her goals were not defined, she simply did whatever would best help people. She began a change in the United States with mental institutions at the age of thirty-nine." (Bumb, 2005) While teaching Sunday school for a class of women in an East Cambridge jail, she noticed that the majority of the inmates were only guilty of one thing – being mentally ill. "Upon entering the jail she witnessed such horrible images that her life, from that point on, was changed forever. Within the confines of this jail she observed prostitutes, drunks, criminals, retarded individuals, and the mentally ill were all housed together in unheated, unfurnished, and foul-smelling quarters." (Bumb, 2005) .

             She was so taken aback by this new insight that she vowed to have the magistrate correct the living conditions and whenever possible release these retched souls. She took the matter to the local courts and although all of her charges were denied, the prison"s living conditions were enhanced to the benefit of the inmates. One most understand that during her time, there were few institutions that offered assistance or treatment for the insane. Those that suffered from mental illness usually were subjected to harsh conditions in their personal homes, prisons, or in the common poorhouses. .

             Dorothea Dix devoted her life to correcting this predicament. Like Christopher Reeves became the voice of the disabled prior to his passing, Dix attacked the problem and became the "voice for the mad.