Dear York is an opportunity for frustrated, oppressed, marginalised and ignored people to share their thoughts and experiences anonymously.
We need a safe space to express and witness the issues we are facing in the system* in York.
Lacking a safe space is one reason why we don’t speak out and share our truth.
We sometimes feel that by speaking out we might:
face physical, psychological and other types of abuse or harm
lose financial support or employment
upset the system, professionals and/or family members we rely on to survive
be refused access to support and resources
and so many more reasons.
*When we refer to 'the system' in York, we are referring to everything that informs the current culture and infrastructure of our city. This includes: people, services, resources, relationships, values, traditions and perceptions.
Your stories are important, our community needs to hear them.
They deserve space and they deserve recognition.
When the system asks us to engage and share our experiences, often the same people get involved. These are people with the confidence, relationships and support to raise their voices.
Others in our community face multiple internal and external barriers to opening up about what is really happening for them and how they are experiencing the system. Their issues remain unseen, unheard and unchanged.
That’s why Dear York exists. Because those stories and experiences matter. Because to make things better, the system needs to understand the complexities of issues we are facing. By reflecting hidden parts of the system, we want to make sure we are more informed and we can move forward without leaving anyone behind.
A note
Dear York was initially set up in June 2021 for all citizens of York who identified as disabled, chronically ill, d/Deaf/HoH, visually impaired, neurodivergent, mentally unwell, or anyone who felt they were unable to raise their voices, whether formally diagnosed or not.
While working across people’s various identities, we recognised that safe spaces do not exist for so many people and we have now expanded to include anyone who experiences oppression, marginalisation or feels ignored by the system.
We include people who work as professionals within the system who are often silenced by organisational policies and struggle to speak out about their own experiences and concerns.
Dear York is a trans-inclusive feminist space dedicated to fighting hetero-patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism and colonialism. We encourage people to join us on that journey and encourage submissions challenging these issues with a spotlight on how they manifest in York.