← News feed Pan-Orthodox

If the church doesn’t rise up for the disabled, who will?

July 15, 2026 · 1 min read

(RNS) — We are watching systems designed to care for our nation’s most vulnerable begin to shrink.

On June 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum threatening the Olmstead v. L.C . decision, the 1999 ruling protecting the right of people with disabilities to live in their communities. The slip opinion is “ inconsistent with long-standing interpretations of federal disability rights law embraced by courts and administrations of both parties.” The U.S. Department of Education also announced recently that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education and rehabilitative services, while DOJ will handle civil rights activities. Federal officials insist these changes reduce bureaucracy and ensure stronger service coordination.

Perspectives on these recent federal actions vary widely within the disability community. Some disability advocates interpret the memorandum as federal officials seeking to strengthen access to care for adults with serious mental illness, while others believe the DOJ’s slip opinion signals a move toward broader institutionalization across the disability community as a whole.…

Source: Religion News Service · Read the full story →

⚑ Report

💬 Comments (7) 🌐 Show original

Xenia Parker

Our parish youth group has a couple of teens with disabilities who come to every hike and bake sale. If the feds start pushing more people back into institutions instead of communities, I worry who’s going to pick up the slack when the funding dries up. The church has to step in, or nobody will.

Вера Новикова

In Yaroslavl, after the service, sometimes parents with children who have cerebral palsy come up and ask to just sit together on a bench near the church. If federal money is spent on institutions rather than on enabling these families to live at home, then who will take them to our parish teas and walks? I'm afraid that really only we can do it ourselves.

Дмитрий Семёнов

Vera accurately noticed about Yaroslavl - our tea parties after the service really rely heavily on simple human participation. In Moscow, we also have a couple of families with children in wheelchairs come, and if there is no one to carry them, the shop near the church will quickly become empty. How do you usually help with transport in your parish? Are there any agreements with drivers?

Michael Clark

Our youth group does the same — we’ve got young lads with autism on the football pitch every Saturday, and they light up when the other teens include them. If the funding gets pulled and institutions start filling up again, it’ll be local parishes like ours that notice first. What sort of help do you reckon the church could actually give those families day-to-day?

Christopher Wilson

Our parish here in Chicago does something similar with our monthly fishing outings — a couple of the quieter lads with disabilities come along, and the older guys just sit with them by the water without making a fuss. I reckon the most practical thing churches can do is offer free respite sitting for parents on Saturday mornings so they can run errands or just breathe. What’s the biggest day-to-day strain you see on those families in your group, Michael?

Sarah Taylor

Our parish in New York tried the respite sitting on Saturdays but only a few parents showed up at first, mostly because they felt guilty leaving their kids. The biggest strain I see is the constant paperwork and fighting insurance for therapies. Have you noticed the same thing in Chicago?

Margaret Adams

Our parish here in Wichita tried a similar Saturday respite last year and ran into the exact same guilt hurdle—parents would sign up then cancel at the last minute. The insurance battles you mentioned are brutal; I’ve watched two families spend whole afternoons on the phone just to get speech therapy approved. Have you found any workaround that actually lightens that paperwork load?