The way we interact and connect with other people has been continually changing since early 2020. With the abrupt onset of COVID-19 many of us physically isolated ourselves from contact with anyone outside of our immediate living space. We collectively learned how to meet virtually and socialize in ways that did not require sharing air.

For some, these new ways of connecting allowed for ease of access to community. For others these virtual connections did not translate into feeling connected to other people at all. Masking, social distancing, and vaccinations introduced new decision points for deciding whether or not to re-join in person events.

Understanding if and how people want to connect with each other requires hearing from a variety of people to learn both who they want to connect with and how they want to make those connections.

Will you help build intentional disability community?

The Center for Community Solutions is working in partnership with Maximum Accessible Housing of Ohio to gain a better understanding of how people with disabilities and chronic conditions want to connect with each other. We are seeking to explore ways to build disability community; and how to meet the desire to have time and space for those with disabilities and chronic conditions to come together to socialize with and support each other.

Over the next few weeks, Community Solutions will be holding small group conversations with people who have a disability or chronic condition and are interested in exploring the idea of intentionally building disability community.All participants of the conversations will receive a $25 gift card. Conversations can be conducted virtually (on Zoom) or in person and we would be happy to buy you a coffee, sandwich or some nachos as we chat. We can be flexible with time and location; we will do what works best for you.