CripCreate is a weekly online co-working space by and for all Deaf and Disabled people. This Disability Justice centered co-working space for all Disabled (sick, Disabled, Mad/mentally ill, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, low vision/blind, neurodiverse, or otherwise chronically ill) people prioritizes a safe space for all participants. We are defining Community Guidelines as boundaries for how people are expected to behave in our spaces.

To suggest edits to these guidelines, please email us at Crip.Create.Rising@gmail.com

This space is guided by the 10 PRINCIPLES OF DISABILITY JUSTICE.

• Access is an ongoing negotiation: Consider your access needs, including the ones that are being met at this moment, AND get curious about the access needs of the rest of the group. We work to cultivate access intimacy and trust-building with respect to Disability Justice principles and one another’s comfort.

• When talking, leave space so others can communicate too. Listening is a valid form of participation, but if you tend to listen and want to speak up, that is welcome. Write in the chat and others can voice for you on a limited basis.

• Respect each other’s privacy. It is acceptable to share concepts learned, but not other people’s stories without their consent.

• Tell your own story. We can all learn from each other. Sharing creates community.

• Ask clarifying questions instead of making assumptions.

• Time is connected to disability and culture. Most of the time we operate on Crip Time. We will begin at a set time and close at a set time. We encourage all to participate as their capacity allows. There is no such thing as arriving late or leaving early.

• Race is a social construct, and we recognize that our society operates within this construct. Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, and other People of Color experience oppression on the basis of race. We always support those of us from BIPOC communities who need affinity spaces free from white folks. We also acknowledge people’s color and the reality of colorism and color privilege within Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, and other People of Color communities. If you need space only for visible people of color, that request is welcome.

• Let the facilitator know if someone is acting in a way that causes harm. If consented to by the person or people being harmed, we may need to initiate a transformative justice process. Transformative justice is a way to be accountable and repair harm. It helps individuals and communities change and grow. Sometimes, harm is so severe that we must immediately initiate a decision without a long process. This decision will usually be informed by the person or people who were harmed.

• Facilitators and moderators may remove a person from the group if they are doing harm to a person or the community. We define harm as something that injures a person’s heart, spirit, or body; offends a person’s culture; or threatens someone’s sense of safety. We consider the weight of power and privilege in the interaction when making the decision to ask someone to leave. Harm is different from the discomfort of accountability.

• We are grateful to have you in this space. We hope this is a space where you can grow what you care about.

• We will use the chat function in the quiet breakout rooms to honor the quiet nature of the space.

• We will have a breakout room for heavy conversations. If the main chatty room slides into a heavy topic anyone can interrupt and request the topic move to the breakout room.

draft as of April 2023