Defend Olmstead and Integration! Tell Your Governor and State Attorney General to Sign the Commitment

The right of people with disabilities to live in the community with supports is foundational and must be protected. This right is found in the original 1977 Section 504 regulations portrayed in The Power of 504 and Crip Camp. It was incorporated into Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by Congress, and it was upheld in 1999 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis.

Our right to live in the community is under attack in the courts and by the federal government. But we cannot go back. We know that serving disabled people in the community is the right thing to do and required by law.

Now is the time to contact your Governor and State Attorney General (AG) to demand that they defend and follow the integration mandate by signing the Commitment to Community Integration for People with Disabilities.

You can learn more about why we need Governors and AGs to sign the Commitment. States can sign on and support the Commitment by filling out this form.

List of Governors:

• Current Governors | National Governors Association
• State governors | USA.gov

List of State Attorneys General | DREDF

Write an email to Your Governor and State Attorney General. You can follow this format:

• Say who you are. Say your name or the name of your group. Say where you live. If you want, you can say what your disability is.
• Say why you care about Olmstead and the integration mandate. Talk about why Olmstead v. Lois Curtis and the integration mandate are important to you. The integration mandate allows us to live and participate in our communities instead of in nursing homes, hospitals, or segregated classrooms.
• Include personal details. You can tell a personal story about why Olmstead matters to you. You can talk about how you or someone you love is able to live in the community with supports instead of in a nursing home or hospital.
• Ask them to sign the statement. Tell your Governor and State Attorney General to sign the Commitment to Community Integration for People with Disabilities. If our leaders don’t stand up for Olmstead and the integration mandate, people with disabilities will lose civil rights. These rights have protected us for more than 50 years.

If you want, ask for a meeting. Say that you and your group would like to set up a meeting to talk about why your Governor and Attorney General should sign the Commitment.

Here is an example of an email to a state Attorney General asking them to sign the Commitment to Community Integration:

To: [Attorney General Philip Weiser, Colorado]

Subject: Sign the Commitment to Community Integration for People with Disabilities

Dear Attorney General [Weiser],

[Say who you are] I live in Denver, Colorado, and I have a disability. I am hard of hearing and use a wheelchair. I go to college part-time. I have a personal care assistant who helps me with bathing, dressing, eating, and other daily tasks.

[Say why you support Olmstead and the integration mandate] Olmstead matters to me. Because of Olmstead, I can live in my own place like other people with the help of my personal care worker. I can make my own choices and see my friends. I am not forced to live in a nursing home far away from regular society. My life depends on Olmstead and the integration mandate.

[Say why they should sign the Commitment] The U.S. Department of Justice is saying that people like me do not have the right to live in the community with supports. They are saying that there is no more Olmstead. We need state leaders like you to stand up for Olmstead and the integration mandate. We need your help. Please sign the Commitment to Community Integration for People with Disabilities.

[Ask for a meeting] I want you to meet with other people with disabilities and me. We want to talk to you about Olmstead and the integration mandate. We want to talk to you about why it is important to us that you sign the Commitment.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

You can also call your Governor and State Attorney General to tell them to sign the Commitment. You can follow the script below – just fill in what is true for you.

My name is [your name], and I live in [your city, your state].

I am a person with a disability. [Say more about your disability].

Olmstead matters to me. Olmstead means that people with disabilities like me can live in the community with supports and not in an institution. I need attendant care services to live my life.

Our rights are under attack. If Olmstead is taken away, I could lose my services. I could end up in a nursing home. That is not the life I want. That is not what the ADA stands for.

If you care about the disability community, please sign the statement of Commitment to Olmstead and the integration mandate. We need you to defend our rights.

Thank you,

[Your name]