Written by Beau Cadrin

“You ready?” It’s a question I ask my partner frequently as we mask up, exit the safety of our filtered apartment air and head to community events where the threat of illness hovers all around us. We pack backup respirators, bring Tupperware containers to take food home, and leave our water bottles behind knowing it isn’t safe to eat and drink alongside our community. This reality may sound like something out of pandemic-past, yet for many folks, it is very much life in the present. For my partner and I, there has never been the choice to look away from the mass illness, the ongoing disablement, and the rising death toll that surrounds us all.

Since the removal of formal mask mandates in late 2022, many community-based organizations and events across the country have returned to pre-COVID measures that frequently do not consider illness prevention, leaving immunocompromised, disabled, and cautious community members without access to essential services and community gatherings. It has been many years since I’ve felt safe, understood, and protected in spaces designed with the goal of inclusivity. A lack of precautions unfortunately translates to a lack of meaningful inclusion for many, which is something that has drastically altered my access to the events and services that were once core to my connection with the queer community. 

This shift to more relaxed precautions has also occurred in healthcare settings, which can prevent community members from accessing gender-affirming care, testing and treatment for STBBIs, and other necessary services. The failure to take serious precautions against the ongoing risks of airborne illnesses is especially upsetting given the fact that marginalized communities are more susceptible to these threats due to a variety of compounding factors and social determinants of health¹. While the collective response of community leaders to emerging health issues such as mpox and the rising numbers of STBBIs throughout the country demonstrates a willingness to organize and show up for our community as 2S/LGBTQIA+ people did during the AIDS crisis, the fatigue and denial that emerged as a result of living through the beginning of the COVID pandemic has led many people to disregard the ongoing threat airborne illnesses pose altogether. As we have seen in the past with the AIDS crisis, the onus is put on the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community to take initiative in order to protect our health. Even though news coverage, government mandates and policies, and honest conversations surrounding COVID are absent or scarce, the threat to the health and wellbeing of our communities remains and continues to grow with each new variant, chain of transmission, and repeated infection. 

Anything from a cold to the flu to the rise in measles cases here in Alberta can pose an airborne threat to the disabled and immunocompromised community, with COVID being one of the most dangerous airborne illnesses currently circulating. The recently published “Our Health COVID-19 Community Report: Queer and Trans Disabled People in Canada” by CBRC demonstrates that COVID has drastic implications for the health and wellbeing of the disabled 2S/LGBTQIA+ community. In particular, the report indicates that 53% of participants with disabilities reported their health had worsened compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as 75% of respondents feeling “very” or “extremely” concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and wellbeing². Alongside this, misinformation has reassured many of us that if we consider ourselves to be physically healthy, catching COVID is no different than a common cold, yet studies show time and again how incorrect this belief is. There are millions of Canadians currently suffering from long COVID, an illness with no known cure that ranges from mild symptoms to complete disablement. Brain fog, chronic fatigue, loss of taste and smell, sensitivity to light and sound, shortness of breath, autoimmune diseases, heart issues, and many other symptoms are all possible outcomes following every COVID infection. 

So what can community-based organizations, event organizers, and healthcare providers do to protect our disabled community members, our loved ones, and ourselves? It may seem simple; stay home when you’re sick and request that community members do the same while planning events. In reality, studies have shown that nearly half of all COVID cases are asymptomatic⁴, meaning we could all be infecting and disabling others without ever knowing we are sick. Many other illnesses are also capable of being transmitted asymptomatically which creates a host of undetectable threats. Fortunately, there are many ways we can plan and host events that are accessible to all members of the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community, especially our disabled peers who are so often told to just stay home.

The first and most critical way to host accessible events for illness-conscious community members, especially in healthcare-oriented spaces, is to implement clear, manageable, and consistent masking protocols. It is important to have a robust understanding of mask types and fit while setting these policies, as surgical masks and masks that do not seal are not as effective at stopping the spread of airborne particles. Instead, seek out high-quality respirators such as the 3M Aura which is my mask of choice, other reliable N95s/KN95s, or other high-quality respirators from trustworthy distributors. Consider connecting with an illness-conscious organization in your area if sourcing respirators or understanding safe masking protocols is an obstacle. Many cities have Mask Blocs, which are organizations dedicated to educating the community and supplying high-quality respirators to folks who cannot afford or source them easily. A great example of a Mask Bloc is COVID Safer amiskwaciy, an organization operating out of so-called Edmonton that distributes respirators, educates on how to mask effectively, and runs workshops to better prepare surrounding communities against the threat of COVID. 

Alongside your organization masking, providing free respirators to attendees is a great way to invite others to participate in community care with your team. Taking a step even further, making some (or all) events and spaces mask-mandatory is a direct message that your organization takes the health and wellbeing of all community members seriously. In spaces designed for community members to seek life-saving healthcare such as STBBI testing and gender-affirming care, having a mask-mandatory policy is especially crucial. 

CBRC’s report on the impact of COVID-19 on disabled 2S/LGBTQIA+ people demonstrates how important it is for community-based organizations to prioritize masking, clean air, and accessibility. Investigating the levels of trust that disabled community members have in various institutions and organizations revealed that nearly half of the study’s participants had low levels of trust in the healthcare system, while nearly three quarters of participants had high levels of trust in 2S/LGBTQIA+ community based organizations⁵. This drastic difference indicates that many disabled 2S/LGBTQIA+ individuals would be much more likely to access healthcare from a community-based organization than from the healthcare system itself, further emphasizing why accessibility is a priority to ensure all members of our community can access the care they need. In my experience, finding organizations, events, and spaces that prioritize accessibility to such a degree that masking is mandatory and healthcare feels safe is rare. But when these elements are prioritized, they clearly communicate that immunocompromised, disabled, and illness-conscious individuals like myself can rely on their organization for safety and genuine inclusion.

Another important way to create an accessible space for all is to consider the cleanliness of the air in your offices and event venues. There are various ways to approach this task, with the primary two routes being choosing a location based on the air quality or improving the air quality manually. For the former, ensuring an environment has good filtration and consistent airflow is essential. An easy way to do this is to host events outdoors, a choice that guarantees cleaner air.  When an event must be indoors, consider asking the building and venue owners about the filtration system and the presence of windows that can be opened prior to selecting a location. Further, your organization can buy a portable CO2 monitor such as the Aranet4 which allows you to detect the levels of carbon dioxide in the air, ensuring the reading is within a safe range. Section 9 of this document clearly explains CO2 readings and how to use the monitor, with the rest of the document also providing a host of information on masking, purifying air, and other aspects of protecting yourself and your community from aerosol transmission.

If locating a building with good ventilation proves too difficult, there are many ways to filter the air and improve airflow to any venue. The simplest first step is to open any windows and doors if the weather permits, allowing indoor and outdoor air to circulate more freely. Following this, bringing air purifiers into any space can drastically improve air quality, reducing the likelihood of illness transmission. There are a variety of options when it comes to sourcing purifiers, with some targeting smaller spaces, like the Coway Airmega, to much larger options such as the Levoit Core 600S. It is important to know the amount of space you intend to filter as each purifier is capable of handling a specific number of square metres. It is also important to read the instructions of each air purifier closely, as some purifiers need cleaning and all purifiers need their HEPA filter replaced after a certain length of use. Between the initial cost of the purifier to the ongoing cost of replacement filters, funding can often be the primary obstacle to organizations effectively filtering air. This is another great opportunity to connect with nearby Mask Blocs, as many of them can rent or lend purifiers, as well as educate on lower-cost DIY purifier options.

Alongside masking and clean air, creating an online attendance option for your organization’s events is another way to ensure they are accessible. For many meetings, educational programs, and speaker-led events it is relatively simple to provide an online alternative for folks who cannot safely attend in-person. Consider streaming the event and meeting via Zoom or other online platforms. It is important to share these links in a safe way to ensure those attending are members of the community, as online spaces pose a much higher threat for anonymous, hostile, and disrespectful participants. A great way to do so is by creating a Google Form or having a relatively quick-to-reply email account where community members can request the link. Oftentimes this small extra step can ensure only folks who genuinely want to attend can access the online space.

While online spaces are great as an alternative to in-person events, I encourage you to take a moment to remember how it felt when all community events took place exclusively online. To me, it never felt the same as attending an event in-person and being directly surrounded by my community, with many studies showcasing how physical distancing during the early portion of the pandemic had distinct negative health outcomes for members of the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community⁶. For this reason, it is important not only to provide this online space for members of the disabled and immunocompromised community who cannot access physical spaces whatsoever, but also to create in-person spaces that are welcoming to all who are capable of physically attending.

My final suggestion for improving accessibility is to include an Accessibility Statement in the promotion of your events, programs, protests, and spaces. In simple terms, an Accessibility Statement is a document, infographic, or other easily legible piece of text that directly states what steps you are taking to make an event or space accessible, as well as what is lacking. An example of an organization that provides a simple accessibility statement on their Instagram posts is LavenderClubYYC, a sapphic-led group that hosts mask-mandatory events which I always love to attend. Their statements clearly indicate whether their locations are wheelchair accessible, if masking is mandatory, whether gender-neutral bathrooms are available, and many other important accessibility needs. 

While this article primarily focuses on accessibility in terms of illness prevention, accessible spaces take various forms and should also consider physical accessibility, affordability and sliding scale pay options, translation, transcription, and interpretation of texts and spoken words, the use of accessible language, sensory triggers such as lighting and volume, the presence of intentional spaces for QTBIPOC community members and trans folks, and many other factors. A successful Accessibility Statement takes all of these factors into account in order to ensure disabled folks do not have to overexert themselves by asking questions and making requests related to their accessibility needs. Remain open to any questions and comments, but provide as much information as you are able to in advance. Don’t be afraid to state when your venue or space is not accessible in some ways — it is important that folks can prepare in advance when some of their needs cannot be met.

Entering into the work of illness-consciousness and accessibility can be a big endeavour if you haven’t done so before. Rest assured, there are many resources and options for bringing accessibility practices into your organization in a manageable and effective way. If your organization has the resources to do so, hiring a consultant with expertise in disability justice and accessibility is a great way to design events, spaces, and programs from the ground up with consideration for disabled and immunocompromised community members at the forefront of your planning. Consultants are also a great way to evaluate your current practices, with an outsider’s perspective often revealing accessibility issues you may not have considered. 

If a consultant is not an option for you, take the time to listen to disabled voices, do independent research, and seek out the aid of other organizations in your area to begin the process of creating more accessible events and spaces. There are often many good examples in the medical field as well, with mobile dental hygienists and optometrists demonstrating a unique way that healthcare providers can create more accessible options for gender-affirming care and STBBI testing. Learning about disability justice, accessibility, and illness-consciousness is a lifelong process, with each event, program, and space providing your organization with a new opportunity to improve accessibility. As an illness-conscious queer person, I have spent considerable time dreaming of a future in which I feel as at home with my community as I do in the safety of my filtered apartment air. I believe that those of you who have taken the time to read my words have a desire to build this world of safety and community care alongside me. I encourage you now to go forward with the goal of your organization’s events, spaces, and programs becoming welcoming, inclusive, and accessible for all.

Beau Cadrin is a queer, trans, white settler and a member of a network of illness-cautious activists throughout Turtle Island. They navigate life as a person who masks full-time in public, advocating for clean air and masking as community care. He works and resides on Treaty 6 lands, leading educational workshops on various topics including seed-saving, trans rights, and menstrual equity. 

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The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Community-Based Research Centre or the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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