Every so often, a policy decision lands that feels like a siren, and the Department of Justice’s recent Office of Legal Council memo is exactly that. By twisting long‑settled ADA and Olmstead v. L.C. protections, this memo attempts to roll back the fundamental right of disabled Americans to live in their own communities.
We’re already seeing the consequences of this mindset. Here in Utah, state leaders recently explored building a massive forced‑treatment “campus” for unhoused people — an isolated facility where individuals could be detained and treated against their will. These ideas gain traction quickly when fear is allowed to override evidence. And the evidence is clear: forced institutionalization does not solve homelessness, mental illness or substance use. It simply hides people from public view while stripping them of autonomy and connection.
Decades of research show that community‑based services of supportive housing, peer‑led programs, mobile crisis teams, and Medicaid‑funded home and community‑based care, are not only more humane but far more effective and cost‑efficient. These approaches work because they honor people’s dignity and keep them rooted in the relationships that help them heal.
I’m asking readers and elected officials to reject any policy that chips away at the Olmstead promise, whether it comes from Washington or our own statehouse. Protecting the right to live in freedom, whether it comes from Washington or our own statehouse. Protecting the right to live in the community is a civil rights obligation, not an optional policy preference. And to the advocates who continue to push back against these harmful proposals: Thank you for refusing to let history repeat itself.
Carrie Allmon, Kaysville