What the World Gets Wrong About LGBTIQ+ People with Intellectual Disability with Cameron Bloomfield

Disability advocate and self-advocate Cameron Bloomfield shares what it’s like to be a gay man with an intellectual disability. He talks about self-advocacy, pride, and challenging the misconception that people with disability aren’t sexual or part of the LGBTIQ+ community.

Connect:

Peta Hooke

Instagram: @petahooke

Website: www.icantstandpodcast.com

Email: icantstandpodcast@gmail.com

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Episode transcript:

Peta: Hello, and welcome to the I Can't Stand Podcast. The show that explores what it's like to live with a disability. I'm Peta Hooke, I have cerebral palsy, and I'm your host. Every week I sit down with remarkable people who's lived experiences and perspectives are reshaping how disability is. Understood, not just within our community, but by non disabled people too. This week, I'm joined by Cameron Bloomfield. Cameron is a passionate self advocate and proud member of the lgbt qia plus community. He's the winner of the twenty twenty four Disability Pride Champion, a ward at the Victorian Disability Awards, a peer worker at Rainbow Rights, an advocacy, and one of the founding members of Inclusive Rainbow Voices, a group dedicated to impairing lgbt qya plus people with a disability to be heard and celebrated. In this conversation, Cameron opens up about how self advocacy helped him rebuild his life after some really tough times, what pride means for him, and why easy communication and true inclusion matters. Let's get into it.

Cameron: Hi, my name's Cameron. My pronouns are here and him. I'm the twenty nineteen award winner for Disability Inclusion Category, and I'm also the award winner for twenty nineteen Victoria Disability Awards for Pride Champion.

Peta: Thank you so much for being here, Cameron. I really appreciate it, and I'm really looking forward to talking to you. Congratulations on winning those awards. What did it mean to you winning those awards and having that recognition within the community.

Cameron: What it meant bugging that it meant that all the work that I do wasn't getting ignored or wasn't getting left behind, or I wasn't get overseen, you know, for the stuff that I've done achieved over my time.

Peta: I also know that your work extends to something called Rainbow Rights. Can you tell us about it.

Cameron: It's a self advocacy group for people with intellectual disability who are part of the Rainbow community.

Peta: Your work is so important because I think all too often people with disabilities are infantalized or aren't seen as adults, and sexuality is just part of the human condition and disabled people are no different. What's your experience being like around that.

Cameron: The acknowledging the work that people with disability actually can contribute out there in the community, which is a big achievement for somebody who, as you stated earlier, that sometimes we don't get seen as an adult. It shows that, you know, we can actually be out there with the rest of society and contribute our lived experience to educate and inform the rest of society of that we're not just here just because we've got a disability. We are part of society. We can achieve things. It might take us a bit longer to achieve it, but we can still achieve things out there tour and we're not just you know, we also do have a preference of we we do have a preer. We not just someone with the disability. We do have a sexuality preference as well.

Peta: Sorry. How did you start advocacy work? Is it something you've been doing for a while?

Cameron: Cameron? Nearly eight years ago. I was released from jail and I caught up with a friend after I got out who introduced me to SARU, which is a South advocacy Resource unit and a group had just started up a year before before I got out, and it was called RAMA Rights, and they introduced me to RAMA Rights. I started going there just as a member got introduced to other people in that in that in that area, and I thought, this is something I actually quite like seeing people with disabilities stand up for their own rights, to show people, you know, yet we can we can speak up as well and not get walked all over. So from there, I thought, this is something that is on the right path with my experience. Besides, with an intellectual disability mixed in with the justice system, I have a lot to be able to show and be able to help people that's in my in my in my situation as well, and educate people, be able to educate people, and and you know, it just shows that I was just passionate and it's something that I liked, you know, to do. After I got introduced to the self advocacy world.

Peta: From what I understand, the transition from life in prison or jail to normal life can be very very difficult, and a lot of people end up back in prison. Unfortunately. Did you having a purpose and working in advocacy help you with that transition?

Cameron: It did did help. It did help from when I got out of jail, because it is it is hard jump from spending a bit of time in jail then going to normal life. But for me finding, you know, being introduced to Rain of Rights and self advocacy and SAARU which helped helped a lot. And I'm just grateful that people can see past what I've done in the past and see what I'm doing for the future and helping out.

Peta: When you think about life before jail versus life after, was it different for you? Do you now feel more supported, particularly through your advocacy work. What's that been like to compare.

Cameron: There? There was actually so before jail, there was nothing like the nd I S. I pretty much had no support at all helping me battle through stuff as someone with a mild intellectual disability. After I got released from jail, I got the the ndi I S was around. I got a lot more support from when I got out of jail, But before jail, I had no support. There was nothing available, you know. It was it's pretty much on your own defense, you know, defending for yourself. And I probably had one DHS workout that would only see me a couple of times and not even probably once a month or not even that. I had to pay for things myself. After when the indis come out, then then things changed. My first first year of funding, I got quite a lot. I got the support that I needed someone to come and see me weekly. You know, all that support was was given to me, which was which was really helpful.

Peta: I'm so happy to hear that being part of the disability community but also having an nd I S plan and support has positively impacted your life to the extent that it has. Cameron, that's really fantastic. Now I'm a little bit confused and I need some help on understanding the difference. I know you're involved with two organizations, Inclusive Rainbow Voices and Rainbow Rites. Can you tell me a little bit about each and how they're different.

Cameron: I'm on the board and also founding member for IRV, which we call short for Inclusive Rambow Voices right. Inclusive Rainbow Voices is an organization for people with disabilities and it's an advocacy organization for the in the LGBTRQ community. Rainbow Rights is specifically still at alone. It is for people within the LGBTRQ community, but it's specifically for people with intellectual disability and it's a self advocacy group. So there's there's a difference between advocacy and self advocacy. Advocacies where people speak up on behalf of people with disabilities. Self advocacy is where people with disabilities speak up for themselves, like many.

Peta: People with disabilities, you're extremely busy. You're also a part of all you work for or SARU. Can you talk to us about what that organization is.

Cameron: SARUS supports over nineteen self advocacy groups in Victoria, so they help support over nineteen self advocacy groups in Victoria and one of the groups are Rainbow Rights. They help support.

Peta: Clearly, you're so invested in being an advocate, a fantastic disability advocate. How do you support disabled people to become confident in their own voice and their perspectives and comfortable to be able to advocate for themselves.

Cameron: Just give them confidence, say you know you can do this, you can build the trust you There was one guy who is now the peer work for Rainbow Rights. He when I first met him, who was a very shy person, didn't really talk is much. Yeah, I've taught him how to speak up more better and use his voice better.

Peta: So, given you advocate so much, and you're clearly so passionate about lgbt QUI communities, particularly those who also identify as having a disability. What's your overall aim, hope, or what's important to you in trying to make people understand what it's lack to be part of both those minority groups.

Cameron: So what's important to me that everyone with everyone with an intellectual disability have their voices heard and be treated like everyone else would want to be treated, and not just a person with the disability, a person who has got the same rights. It's everybody else, the same choice to choose a male partner, female partner, to be gay, to be straight. I that's what is important to me, And you know, I think you know, if people can just respect that least we're getting somewhere.

Peta: What's it like when you consider the wider lgbt QI community. Do you feel like disabled individuals that are part of that community are accepted by the wider lgbt QI community.

Cameron: I think we're starting to get accepted within the wide lgbt o Q community. It's only a small step at the moment, but it's still one of those steps that you've got to take one bit of it, one step stone at a time. One of which people could understand is that that yes, we have a disability and we have the right to express if we want to be in the l if we are allerg if we are gay or lesbian, bisexual, and not saying that no, you don't know what that means, so you don't feel under that umbrella. Show the mum that we do feel under that umbrella and we we don't. We don't want to be silenced, you know. We want to be encouraged to come out if we identify as being in the gay community, come out and celebrate who we are, ye not be suppressed. Sometimes people still find it hard to accept that, yes we have disability, we are allowed to speak up for ourselves. We are allowed to choose what sexuality we are. You can't change the world over overnight. I wish I could, but.

Peta: So beautifully said, do you feel a part of the community, Cameron.

Cameron: I do feel welcome in some in queen spaces. I don't go out to many que spaces, but I do the ones I do go out to, I do feel welcome, welcome in it. It makes it hard because sometimes, like I know people who are part of the quick community who are in wheelchairs, but sometimes that the places that are available aren't available for everyone to attend, if that makes sense.

Peta: On this podcast, I talk a little bit about disability pride, but obviously you have two types of pride within your life. Cameron, what does the word pride mean to you?

Cameron: So pride means to me that I can achieve this, be proud and achieve great things with the work that I'm doing. And I'm pride proud to say yes, I have a disability and I'm also a part of the lgbt r Q. It's not just a label, it's my life. I'm proud to show everyone else that I can over I can achieve a lot more than what people doubt I can achieve, and that gives me pride to say yes, I am here, I'm loud. I'm not gone away anytime soon. Just because it's disability, pride or alergybtright. I'm the one who's living it. I'm the one who's proud to do the work, to get up there and speak up for you know everyone.

Peta: As someone with an intellectual disability. I'd love to hear how we can all better communicate and be aware of access needs of people with intellectual disabilities. So, for example, to make sure that we were both comfortable with this interview, I sent you the questions, as I always do for every guest, but I tried to the best of my current knowledge and ability to put it in easy English. What do you suggest for people listening? How can they best support people with intellectual disabilities?

Cameron: So how would be would would be really good studies? Is everyone knew how to do easy English, especially sending emails? That would be the There would be One good thing is people knew how to communicate properly to people with intellectual disabilities. Try and make sure you put space in between your words. Try and make sure that it's a larger font size minimum minimum fourteen yeah, and gaps in between each sentence, which would help you when reading these is what to do if you do the basic tips of easy at least plain English, easy English is the only difference is you add pictures next to the words. I grabbed an idea from another organization with which I use it that they use traffic like cards, and what we do is I've edited to suit me in the place of meetings. Is say, for example, I like the using the red card because it means stop. And if somebody uses the jargon word I will I don't have one at the moment. We'll hold up a red card in front of the camera or in person. That means someone who has used the jargon, and that means stop and explain what that jargon word means. Great beads, you're happy, you're good to go, and orange yellow means you have a you have a question. But I tend to use the red card because it means it gets more people's attention.

Peta: And yeah, as someone sitting here myself I'm talking about I am quite obsessed with AI. I'd love chat GPT. I use it all the time in my work, but I'd love to hear your perspective on AI and helping people with intellectual disabilities. Do you use AI very much, Cameron?

Cameron: I don't. I haven't really used AI as much for asy English. There was a program that England has come out with that has an AI system called photo Symbols. I haven't used it as much because it gets a bit of expensive.

Peta: Do you have any advice for somebody listening today, maybe who thinks my goodness, I want to advocate black Cameron does or learn the skills or use my voice? What is your advice for people to get into the sort of line of work that you do now?

Cameron: Cameron George join a self advocacy group. Yeah, especially if you have an intellection disability. There are self advocacy groups out there. Uh, if you're a young person over the age of at and join us self advocacy group that there are other organizations out there that help people under the aggervating But my thing is, you know, maybe if if you if you're struggle to find a self group, reach out to Sarah the Self Advocacy Resource Student, which is located in Flinders Flinders Lane in Melbourne. There are two in Victoria that I know of. One self advocacy group is for just with intellection disabilities. The other one is an online basis and that is for people with acquired brain injuries and intellectual disability.

Peta: When we consider young people, we automatically think of the future. What's your hope for the future for people with disabilities?

Cameron: So my hope of the future is for the government to recognize that there's people with disabilities and the analogy to our que community and hopefully we can get more funding for self advocacy groups. Ongoing funding for self advocacy groups. RAMA Rights has gone through a period where we actually had no funding at all from the government. We've got a funding now, but we still stayed there, stayed strong and connected as a group, and we still still managed to actually grow our group over the time as well.

Peta: From my last question for every episode is the same. But I want to ask you. I get so sick of when strangers ask me questions about my disability, and if there was one question I could stop them asking, it's what happened to you? So what is one question you wish a stranger would never ask you again.

Cameron: One thing that I really really get annoyed about is when a stranger automatically thinks that I'm straight. I've had so many people, Oh you're if you're your female partner will like that. Yeah, It's like, hey, I'm gay, and then it puts them in an awkward spot. You know, it'd be really good if they stopped acting straight questions and stop assuming.

Peta: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the I Can't Stand Podcast. If you enjoyed today's conversation, the best way you can support the show is by sharing it with a friend or posting about it on social media, and if you have a moment, leaving a rating and review helps more people find these stories.

Peta: Don't forget. You can always send me an email I Can't Stand Podcast at gmail dot com, or you can. follow me over on Instagram @petahooke. I'll see you next week.

Peta: I would like to respectfully acknowledge the wondery and bunner wrong people of the Call and Nation of which I record the podcast today, and I pay my respects to both elders past And present, along with and especially to those in the First Nation's communities who are disabled themselves.