If you live in New York City, you probably have heard the outrage over Mayor Eric Adams directing NYPD, FDNY-EMS, and mobile crisis teams to increase the use of involuntary transport to the hospital for persons on the streets and subways that they deem to be mentally ill. 

We work every day on disability rights—from expanding access to benefits that some individuals with disabilities rely on, to fighting against institutionalization by ensuring people can get the care services they need at home and in their communities.  

So you can imagine how emotional it was for my colleagues and I, who are at the frontlines of conversations about advancing disability rights, to see this news. This is a huge set back to the safety, rights and dignity of disabled people. And this flies in the face of major progress disability rights advocates have made in recent decades. 

With dangerous policies like Mayor Adams’ forcible removal order impacting people on the streets and in the subways, we need increased support to keep fighting for disability rights. 

Mayor Adams’ directive instructs first responders to use involuntary removal beyond situations likely to result in serious harm, including for people who “[appear] to be mentally ill and [display] an inability to meet basic living needs, even when no recent dangerous act has been observed.” 

This policy dramatically expands police discretion to forcibly remove people from the streets simply based on a judgment call that they cannot “meet basic living needs.”  

As Sara Lunden and I wrote in a piece last week, this alarming directive returns us to the “ugly laws” of the late 1800s that targeted the poor, homeless, and disabled by prohibiting begging and restraining “certain unsightly persons” from appearing in streets and public places. 

We need to gear up as we continue our multi-pronged fight for disability rights. Consider making a donation to fortify our ongoing work.