LET’S has been working with Realize Canada on a research project looking at episodic disabilities and employment. Heather worked with Bastion Marshall and Alfiya Battalova, with assistance from Kale Gösen (from Humanize Consulting), to conduct 46 1-hour long interviews followed by compiling and writing a final report that focused on the experiences of queer and trans folks with episodic disabilities in Ontario and British Columbia and employment. Bastion Marshall is a disabled, queer, non-binary, neurospicy ‘Spoonie’. They are passionate about social justice and do crisis volunteering for people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled, and/or dealing with chronic illness. Alfiya is a researcher with a background in disability studies. She conducts qualitative and quantitative research that focuses on health equity, access to postsecondary education, community engagement, and disability policies. Kale is white, queer, cis-gender and disabled, and is devoted to anti-oppression work. She is an activist and educator who has spoken in front of thousands of people over the past decade.

Here are some examples of what participants said in their research interviews:

“I have been so accustomed to being chronically under-supported in my life that I often forget to look and believe that there are resources out there for me.”

(Teacher talking about being an adult with ADHD) “Given so much information about mental health and neurodivergence for students but no reflection for how we talk about our own careers. It’s cool that we are learning about it for students but alienating to not have conversations about it for teachers. I can’t talk about how she can’t genuinely cannot keep up.”

“Have experienced racism and other forms of discrimination in disability spaces and trans spaces or BIPOC only spaces. Hasn’t been easy to find space where all of my identities can show up and be okay.”

(From a participant who has been both moderator and admin on Vancouver Queer Spoon Share): “Proud of how it has grown and how it helps people like me who have needs. The ways I meet people have ripples and connections and widen understanding of who I am.”

“As far as other identities, I believe that Fat or Person in a Large Body is relevant as I believe I have endured stigma and discrimination based on the size of my body and assumptions about my health in relation to body size in the workplace as well as within social services.”

“Trying to navigate any services with a doctor has been horrific. I’m exhausted”

“Without all this ableism, I wouldn’t be treated as a problematic, disordered, crisis that needs to be solved all the time.”

“I feel ‘non-compliant’ in the social service sector. My non-negotiable needs are seen as demanding. I am a limp and tired human.”

“I think things like higher wages, working conditions, work/life balance, and benefits are all so much more important than just “having a job” and all determine how long people like us are actually able to stay at the job.”

“Most people providing service to the community are burnt out.”

 

“A disabled group interview was up 2 flights of stairs, no elevators – they asked why I didn’t come and I explained the stairs and they said that never occurred to them.”

 

(Illustration of a person in a wheelchair in front of stairs.)

It was interesting to hear about the intersection between other identities and disability. As one research participant said, “Disability and queerness are still treated as 2 separate things but there is such crossover. When I saw this study, I was excited because the venn diagram came together.” LET’S has an ongoing relationship with Realize, and we will be updating about this project in future newsletters as more events happen to disseminate the findings of this research.

LET’S was proud of the diverse demographics included in the  46 interviews (we even learned about some new, to us,  identities). Here are some of our demographics:

Location:

Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Comox Valley, Courteney,  Coquitlam, Kitchner, Ontario, Langley, Nanaimo, Nelson,  Ottawa, Ontario, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Salmo, Tla’Amin  territory, qathet area, aka Lund, Toronto, Ontario,  Tsawwassen, Vancouver, BC/Unceded Musqueam, Squamish,  Tsleil-waututh, Victoria, West Vancouver, Winlaw

Age Range:

Teen to 58

Sexuality:

Aro/Ace, Aroflux, asexuality,

bisexual, butch, demisexual,

ethically non-monogamous,

gay, gayish queer, lesbian,

omnisexual, pansexual,  polysexual, queer

Gender:

2 spirit, agender, beyond binary, butch, cis female, depends on day, female, female ish, femme, genders are many, gender fluid, genderqueer,  girl, girl with a question mark and shrug emoji, low fem,  male, male-genderfluid, male (transgender), man, no gender,  non-binary, non-binary woman, not applicable, pangender,  queer, transgender, trans male, transfem, transmisogyny affected (TMA), trans, non-binary, woman, xgender  (connected to Filipino culture)

People with more than 1 gender identity: 14

Pronouns:

Any pronouns, he/him, he/she, he/they, she/her, she/they,  they/he/keoi (Cantonese), they/she, they/them

Race:

Black, Black/biracial, Chinese, East-Southeast Asian  (Chinese-Vietnamese), Filipino, Indigenous, Japanese,  Jewish, Latin/Latino/Latinx, mixed, mixed (white and Central  American Indigenous), South Asian, white/white Settler

Disclosed Immigrants (5)

Approximate Income:

No personal income to $91,000

Highest Education (does not need to be completed): Did not graduate high school, completed high school,  certificates, college, culinary school, bachelors, diplomas,  post graduate, masters, doctorate, trade/technical/ vocational training

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.