My name is Anzi (he/they/we) and I founded DisabiliT4T in the fall of 2023 in response to the ostracization I felt from within the queer community once I became disabled by Long COVID. I realized how many of us there are who feel this way—alienated, alone, and enduring the violence of the medical industrial complex, with insufficient support systems and little access to likeminded community.
DisabiliT4T's objective is to create an intentional community where disabled and chronically ill queers can establish networks of community care. Our spaces center the needs and rights of disabled and chronically ill trans people, especially our rights to have fun and feel socially fulfilled. We also recognize that all of our survival needs must be met before anyone can thrive. Resource-sharing and public health advocacy, and disability justice are inextricable from our mission.
That's a lot of buzzwords, but what will they mean in practice? Let's talk about where DisabiliT4T stands now, where we're heading, and what we're committed to along the way.
It's enticing, especially when we're impassioned about a cause, to aim high and scale up as quickly as possible to maximize our impact. But, by taking off too soon, we can find ourselves halfway across the ocean before we hit major turbulence and realize we never bothered to figure out how to navigate turbulence safely. I've seen this happen to so many well-intentioned groups. When it does, they'll pause their programming, take time to "reflect," hire transformative justice mediators, and claim to be open to feedback, but they rarely regain the trust of their members, especially those subjected to harm.
DisabiliT4T's metaphorical plane will not take off until we have the knowledge and infrastructure to reach a cruising altitude, safely navigate our flight path, and confidently handle an emergency landing. We won't even start boarding the plane until we can guarantee access to everyone who'd like to come aboard.
That's why the Needs Assessment Survey is Step One. We launched the 58-question survey in early October to learn as much as we can about the unmet social, access, and survival needs of chronically ill and disabled queers. The survey asks about everything from how you prefer to socialize to what COVID precautions you require, and even what you'd like out of Disabled4Disabled sex and kink spaces!
The data won't be complete until we have at least 100 responses from BIPOC. That way, we'll have enough to meaningfully analyze BIPOC responses separately from non-BIPOC responses so no one's perspective is drowned out. These perspectives will be centered in our decision-making.
As of the date this was published, we have 157 responses total, including 35/100 responses from BIPOC folks.
An important distinction between DisabiliT4T and other community organizations is that we do not serve the disabled queer community; rather, we are the disabled queer community.
This distinction feels important to name because so far, almost all of this project has been stewarded by me alone. That's both temporary and by design.
First, we need to complete the Needs Assessment Survey. Then, we'll use that data to define our governance structure and bylaws, as well as the core values that will define DT4T's ethos. Sticking with our aviation metaphor, these documents will serve as the airplane manual. (The actual writing process has yet to be defined, but I can promise that it will be transparent, with numerous entry points for open participation.)
For now, my response to all the enthusiastic folks who want to help is:
I can't wait to be ready to grow this community so you have space to nurture these ideas into action, but we're not ready. To help us get to that point, the most impactful thing you can do is encourage the folks in your network to take the Needs Assessment Survey.
This segues nicely into our next commitment...
When we finally have those guiding principles (the "airplane manual") in writing and plans in place for handling conflict, access issues, and safety concerns as they inevitably arise, we can make way for momentum to build!
From that point on, the stewardship of this organization will intentionally transition from my hands into a collective responsibility. I can't say much more about what that will look like in practice, because it depends so much on the earlier stages in this process, but I can't wait to see what radical ideas y'all come up with to get us there.
I mentioned earlier that BIPOC responses will carry the most weight when we analyze the survey and I'd like to expand on that a bit, because all binaries are reductive at best, including the BIPOC/not BIPOC binary.
Intersectionality for DT4T means that we recognize the value of everyone's unique lived experience, while specifically uplifting the perspectives of those whose voices are often silenced. We will always center the needs of our most vulnerable community members in decision-making for the collective, especially those who are multiply-oppressed. This includes:
Community members with more systemic privilege will be expected to show up for the collective accordingly, in whatever way is accessible to them. For example, those with steady income can contribute more financially and those with mental or physical capacity can contribute through labor. If you are under-resourced and don't have much to contribute, the DT4T community will still work to meet your needs with no expectation of reciprocity. That's what intentional community is about.
Marx summed it up pretty nicely: From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.
And lastly...
This is already an established practice at DisabiliT4T. You can look at our ledger right now and see every donation that's come in and where every penny has been spent. This document will be updated as frequently as spoons allow, at minimum once per month. You can also check out all the feedback we've received from each of the events we've done so far, anonymized and compiled here.
During this soft-launch phase, the responsibility is on me to maintain this transparency, and I ask all of you to hold me accountable. Please reach out any time with your comments, suggestions, concerns, and questions. You can contact me on Instagram @disabiliT4T or at disabiliT4T@gmail.com.
You can also share feedback anonymously, any time, via the General Feedback Form linked below. Everything submitted there will be included in the public document linked above.
That about sums it up for now. We've got a lot of work to do and even more to look forward to. Let's get to it.
With love, gratitude, and hope,
Anzi