We will not go back: Able SC Condemns “Crime and Disorder,” Executive Order that Revives Mass Institutionalization and Threatens Civil Rights
Statement for Immediate Release: July 25, 2025
Able South Carolina fiercely opposes the new Executive Order on “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” This order would strip away essential protections for people with disabilities, especially those with mental health and psychiatric disabilities, by dismantling safeguards that allow us to live and thrive in the community. Instead of promoting independence and self-sufficiency, it calls for funneling people into costly, harmful, and dangerous institutions where they don’t belong.
About half of the people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. have a disability. While we certainly condemn this Executive Order for its harm to the homeless community, we must also highlight that Sections II and V call for states to institutionalize people with mental health and psychiatric disabilities—regardless of housing status—and to share the private health data of these populations with the federal government. We also firmly oppose any federal database that collects and stores private healthcare information.
This Executive Order is not progress; it’s a devastating step backward to an era when people with disabilities were locked away for years, often neglected and left to die, simply because of who they were. Rather than investing in affordable housing, quality mental health care, and proven community supports, this order pushes a failed and inhumane model that destroys lives and wastes taxpayer dollars. This is far from the evidence-based reality that community supports save lives.
Here in South Carolina, the U.S. Department of Justice recently exposed how the state is illegally segregating thousands of adults with mental illness in adult care homes—warehousing them for years in with no path to freedom and self-sufficiency. The Administration’s actions now threaten to undo years of critical work to end these abuses, effectively trapping more people behind institutional walls. Make no mistake, this is not care. It is imprisonment.
This Executive Order also contradicts the legacy of both Republican and Democratic presidents, who recognized that institutionalization is harmful and ineffective. Richard Nixon expanded funding for community mental health programs, moving resources away from outdated institutions. Ronald Reagan, both as governor and later as president, supported the philosophy of deinstitutionalization, pushing for individuals with mental health disabilities to live in the community rather than in facilities. George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which enshrines the right for people with disabilities to live in the most integrated settings possible, while President George W. Bush launched the New Freedom Initiative to further break down barriers to independence, mental health supports, and housing. This order flies in the face of decades of bipartisan progress toward dignity, freedom, and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.
“This Executive Order is an incredibly dangerous step backward,” said Kimberly Tissot, CEO of Able SC. “For decades, people with disabilities have fought for the right to live freely, contribute to our communities, and pursue the American dream with the supports we need. Bringing back mass institutionalization is not only a betrayal of our freedom and dignity—it’s a scam that wastes taxpayer dollars on failed, outdated systems. True strength means investing in real solutions like housing, mental health care, and community supports, not locking people away and pretending the problem is solved.”
Research overwhelmingly shows that community-based living leads to better outcomes for people with disabilities. Studies confirm that people who transition from institutions to community settings experience better health, longer lives, more independence, stronger social connections, and greater satisfaction. Community-based programs also cost significantly less than institutional care, saving taxpayers millions of dollars every year while honoring people’s rights and dignity.
People with disabilities, especially those without housing, need funding put toward real solutions that have been proven to work and save taxpayer dollars: affordable housing, quality mental health care, and strong community-based supports. With cuts made to Medicaid, disability programs, Housing and essential services, more people will end up on the streets. At a time when Medicaid funding is being slashed, pouring more money into outdated and expensive institutions is not only harmful but wasteful.
We know what happens if these protections disappear. People with disabilities ranging from psychiatric conditions, like depression, to misunderstood developmental disabilities like autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and down syndrome were once locked away for years, even for life, not because they were dangerous, but because the system allowed it. These practices destroyed lives, increased stigma, created a cycle of dependence, and cost states millions of dollars.
The belief that people with psychiatric disabilities are inherently dangerous is a harmful and false stereotype that fuels discrimination and fear. Studies consistently show that people with mental health conditions are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. This myth not only stigmatizes individuals but also drives harmful policies that prioritize confinement over care. When we equate disability with danger, we strip people of their rights, isolate them from their communities, and ignore proven solutions like accessible mental health care, peer support, and housing that promote recovery and independence.
Able SC stands with state and national disability groups, urging the Administration to be smart, invest in proven solutions that save money and save lives. Strong leadership means moving forward with innovation and freedom, not throwing money at broken, outdated systems that do nothing but trap people and waste taxpayer dollars.