Finding community as a disabled and/or chronically ill person can be difficult. For organizers that acquire a disability due to state repression (e.g. at protests), systemic violence (e.g. poverty, environmental racism, unmitigated pandemics etc) or for a whole host of other reasons, becoming disabled means becoming part of a marginalized group. This creates disorienting barriers to accessing places, relationships and to participating in social movement spaces that once felt welcoming.
The care work of supporting new disabled organizers often falls on organizers that acquired their disabilities years ago, or who were born with their disabilities. Disabled and/or chronically ill people are often isolated and/or face barriers to finding these people and these spaces. This list was created to give folks a jumping off point.
Because disability is intersectional, and because being marginalized increases one’s likelihood of developing a disability, many of these spaces also have sub-communities/spaces for LGBTQIAS+ disabled people and/or Black/Indigenous/POC disabled people to connect on the experiences they face as individuals with multiple, intersecting marginalized identities.
It can be helpful to find sub-communities of people who have the same/similar disabilities as you. However, we highly encourage branching out into communities that include people with many kinds of disabilities to avoid replicating the disability hierarchy, which positions some disabilities as better/worse than others, and some as more deserving than others of stigma. It is important to understand that experiences of being disabled are extremely varied, both from intersecting identities and from the disabilities themselves.
This list was compiled by GGSN coordinator Kenzie, who has personal experience with acquired chronic illness and disability. This list will be updated as more online communities/activism spaces are shared with them/us. If you have further suggestion to add to this list, please share them with us at kenzie@blueprintsfc.org.
1. People’s Hub: Peopleshub.org, @peopleshub (instagram)
Hosts online spaces for disabled/chronically ill movement folks.
2. Disability Cultural Center: dcc.page/links, @disabilityculturalcenter (instagram)
Offers virtual events related to social justice, creativity and community care.
3. Calling up justice: callingupjustice.com, @callingupjusticenow (instagram)
Offers virtual events and spaces geared towards social justice, including weekly parallel spaces (helpful for those with minimal social capacity). Led by Black/Indigenous/POC.
4. Project LETS: https://projectlets.org/
Providing peer support collectives, political education, organizing and advocacy opportunities as alternatives to the current mental health system. Led by and for folks with lived experience of mental illness/madness.
5. The Refresh App: https://www.refreshconnections.com/
Used to find covid safe virtual and/or in-person friendship and companionship.
6. Discord servers: https://discord.com/
Another place to find connections and peer support online. Check out https://disboard.org/servers. Search for communities under “disability”, “chronic illness” etc.
You can also find discord servers in communities such as r/ChronicIllness or r/Disabled on reddit.
7. New Disabled South: https://www.newdisabledsouth.org/
An organization in the US that hosts events on organizing. While some offerings are specific to the local context, many offerings are more broad. These are typically more learning and listening spaces, rather than spaces for direct connection and engagement.
