March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020
Westchester Disabled on the move, Inc. mourns the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion for disability rights. She authored the majority opinion in the 1999 Olmstead v L.C. This decision prohibited unjustified segregation into institutions of people with disabilities and declared the right to live integrated in our communities. “Institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life.”
In New York State, both the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion and Olmstead Housing Subsidy are examples of New York State programs that are a direct result of the Olmstead Mandate and a tribute to the impact of Justice Ginsburg’s life and work. She was a ferocious fighter to the end, and her legacy demands that her replacement shares her values and has the conviction to stand by those values. It is now up to each of us to make sure that happens.