Please surround this family with love and support. #RyanGainer
IMAGE: A statement from the family of Miles Hall on a background of gray and black ink with gold sparkles. In the lower left of the image is a photo of the 3 members of the family of Ryan Gainer with Ryan. All members of the family are smiling and seated close together.
IMAGE TEXT:
The family of Miles Hall is heartbroken about the killing of Ryan Gainer.
Ryan was a Black autistic fifteen-year-old living in California, who had dreams of becoming an engineer and ran cross country because it comforted him. Like Miles, the Gainer family needed help and called the police - police who knew Ryan, not as a criminal, but because his family made them aware of his neurodivergent condition. Instead of providing care and compassion, giving Ryan the time and distance needed to deescalate, police saw a young Black man in distress, holding a garden tool, and they shot him, in front of his family. Our families have such similar stories.
The police were familiar with both Miles and Ryan and their medical conditions, autism and schizophrenia, and yet - they killed our babies within seconds of arrival. No family should have to lose a loved one this way.
It is important to remember that both Miles and Ryan and our families are the victims and police shouldn’t be the first responders. The Miles Hall Foundation will continue to make sure that people know about 988 and will work hard to make sure that AB988 in California has a 24/7 fully funded non-police response available for families when their loved ones are in crisis.
The family of Miles Hall is heartbroken about the killing of Ryan Gainer. Being Black in America is NOT a crime. Police are NOT providing safety in our communities when they show up for behavioral health emergencies.
Please, everyone, call 988 if you see someone who needs help.
#BlackLivesMatter #Ryan Gainer #MilesHall #StopPoliceViolence The Official Gainer Family GoFundMe link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-with-ryan-gainer-memorial-funeral-expense
In light of recent events, including the tragic loss of Ryan Gainer, the Miles Hall Foundation, continues to advocate for a reevaluation of police response to mental health situations through the lens of disability justice. Black neurodivergent children who are having an episode deserve to live. Black children deserve to live. PERIOD. We shouldn’t have to say anymore names. No one should have to bury their child. Ryan Gainer should still be here today. Miles Hall should still be here today.
In this interview below with abc7news, from this past weekend's event to honor Ryan and speak out for disability justice and disability rights, Taun Hall emphasizes the urgent need for alternative approaches to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals experiencing mental health challenges. She echoes the sentiments of countless families who have experienced the devastating consequences of law enforcement intervention in mental health crises.
Watch the video from the weekend's vigil in Oakland as Taun Hall stands in solidarity with communities affected by police violence and calls for disability justice and systemic change.
Justice for Ryan Gainer was organized by Anti Police Terror Project (APTP).