A disabled, trans perspective on new federal policy threats, survival with chronic illness, and the radical hope of community care.

They aren’t just cutting budgets. They’re cutting flesh. Our flesh. Mine.

keep hearing the words “rolling forward” in my head like a dare.

Like a challenge whispered just loud enough to remind me I’m still here.

But rolling forward isn’t easy when the world keeps making it harder just to exist in a disabled, trans, and chronically ill body.

Especially if that body relies on Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security Disability to survive.

Especially if that body is finally, finally starting to feel like its home (after 15 years of instability)—and now everything might be ripped away.

With the new laws being passed—some hiding behind buzzwords like “reform” or “efficiency”—many of us are at risk. The systems we’ve clung to are being quietly dismantled.

They aren’t just cutting budgets.

They’re cutting flesh.

Our flesh.

Mine.

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I’m Scared

I’m scared I’ll lose access to HRT after finally starting it.

I’m scared for my caregiver hours, my housing, my meds, and the fragile web of care I’ve spent years building.

I’m scared for my disabled, chronically ill, queer and trans family across the country—especially in states already erasing us.

But fear isn’t the end of the road. It can’t be.

Because even when I’m not sure I feel hopeful, I refuse to surrender the possibility of it.

Even when it’s dim. Even when it feels far away. Even when I have to roll toward it—inch by inch.

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Rolling Forward Together

The only way we get through this is with each other.

Not just with hashtags or headlines (though there’s space for those), but with mutual aid, shared knowledge, and community care.

Because if the systems fall apart—and many already are—we’ll need each other to hold what they won’t.

If you’re scared too—I see you.

If you’re holding it together with duct tape, leftover protein shakes, and three good spoons a week, you are not failing. You’re surviving something relentless.

And if you’re still showing up, still cooking safe foods, still drinking anything, still teaching your caregivers how to help you live—you are rolling forward. Whether it feels like progress or not.

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What We Can Do

💡 Start documenting your care: meds, diagnoses, letters, treatment plans. Save copies offline.

💡 Connect with mutual aid: give what you can, ask for what you need.

💡 Talk to your doctors now: ask about long-term planning and prescriptions.

💡 Build your network: group chats, neighbor alliances, queer survival pods.

💡 Tell the truth, even when it’s messy. Especially when it’s messy.

Rolling forward doesn’t always look like a win. Sometimes it’s a wobble. Sometimes it’s collapse and rest and rage and try again tomorrow or the next day the body is able.

It’s still movement. It’s still life.

And we don’t have to roll alone.

We can carry hope between us—so none of us has to hold all of it alone

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🌱 Resources & Mutual Aid Links

🔧 Care, Disability & Survival Planning

Disability Justice Survival Guide (Sins Invalid):

https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2020/6/16/disability-justice-resources

Surviving the Future: A Mutual Aid Toolkit:

https://bigdoorbrigade.com/resources/mutual-aid-toolkit/

How to Build a Care Map:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mA-iUrjNs1kRdf-gI0HoZkAb3ET8ahN0c5AT9dZcnlY/edit

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans & Queer Mutual Aid

Trans Mutual Aid Directory:

A living directory of mutual aid funds and individual requests

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EjEvIdY5FgHqK9bh7PStlJvEx8_KV8-4jJY3YV0ltR8/edit#gid=0

Point of Pride:

Free HRT support, binders, surgery fund, and more

https://www.pointofpride.org/

For the Gworls:

Rent and gender-affirming care grants for Black trans folks

https://www.forthegworls.party/

Trans Lifeline Microgrants:

Legal name changes, IDs, HRT, and more

https://translifeline.org/microgrants/

🧠 Neurodivergent + Chronically Ill Support

NEAT Mutual Aid:

Neurodivergent, chronically ill & disabled mutual aid collective

https://www.neatmutualaid.org/

I Wanna Be Well:

A community-led zine + resource hub for sick/disabled/trans/queer folks

https://www.iwannabewell.info/

🫂 General Mutual Aid Platforms

Mutual Aid Hub:

Find local groups across the U.S. and beyond

https://mutualaidhub.org/

GoFundMe’s Verified Mutual Aid Lists:

Often highlights urgent trans and disabled community needs

https://www.gofundme.com/c/blog/mutual-aid

Activist Mutual Aid Directory:

A big list of people seeking help

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aB0vOx1UOy8X8cK5hTz26f6Rt4SzjBBbJv1qXDJKnpM/edit?usp=sharing