LET’S is working with Realize on a research project. In June, we put a call out for participants and received an amazing amount of people willing to share their stories. In a 2 week period, we did 46 interviews. The participants helped us expand our collective knowledge and understanding about the issues that directly impact the employment journey of queer and trans community members living with episodic disabilities in Canadian workplaces. (This was a paid opportunity.)
Participants needed to be 2SLGBTQIA+ and disabled/person with a disability, chronically ill, mad, crip, neurodivergent, and/or Deaf/deaf with episodic disabilities. Participants must be from, what is colonially known as, Canada.
Realize’s definition of episodic disabilities: A person can simultaneously live with both permanent and episodic disabilities; however, there are clear distinctions. An episodic disability is marked by fluctuating periods and degrees of wellness and disability. In addition, these periods of wellness and disability are unpredictable. As a consequence, a person may move in and out of the labour force in an unpredictable manner.
Examples of episodic disabilities: arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, pain, lupus, mental health issues, multiple sclerosis (MS), muscular dystrophy, severe migraines, and more
The interviews were amazingly diverse and yet they all shared similar themes, experiences, and ableism in the workplace. We excitedly finished our report and submitted it to Realize. There will be a 2 day event in November where the 6 organizations, that participated in the research, share their findings. We will make sure to update you when that happens.