Disability Dinner Club // Melbourne
Description
A dinner for people who find their disability the least interesting thing about them.
Maybe you've tried a support group. Maybe you got called a "resilient warrior babe" and never went back (this was me!). Maybe you've scrolled through disability community pages looking for your people and found everyone a little too at peace with it all.
Because what you actually wanted wasn't a room full of people celebrating their diagnosis, it was just a room full of people living their lives, disability included.
You're not alone in that.
The Disability Dinner Club is a small, intentionally designed night out in Melbourne, for people living with physical disability or chronic illness who don't want it to be the headline of the evening. There is hosted and gently facilitated conversation, delicious food and drinks, all in a room where you don't have to translate yourself.
This isn't a panel. It's not a networking night. It's not "tell us your trauma." It's a good night out, just better designed.
This month's location | Hawker Hall on Chapel St
This month, we're keeping it casual and delicious with $15 noodles at Hawker Hall, one of Melbourne's favourite Southeast Asian hawker-style venues. Their full à la carte menu is available too if you'd like to order more.Everyone orders and pays for their own meal on the night.
You can view their full menu HERE
Read Access with Ash's review of this location HERE
Why we built this
We started Wayfarer Mobility to redesign mobility aids from the ground up - to create canes and crutches that are functional, beautifully designed, and built for the lives people actually live. Because the current options are clinical at best and stigmatising at worst, and the people who use them deserve better than that.
The further I got into using mobility aids myself, the more I realised the product was only part of it. The community options weren't much better than the product options. I've encountered two flavours of disability community: toxic positivity or commiseration circle. I subscribe to neither. Personally, I find my disability to be the least interesting thing about me. When I couldn't find a circle that matched that, I decided to make my own.
Who this is for
People doing physical disability or chronic illness a little differently.
People who crave normal life but have to work harder than most to access it.
People who carry mobility aids, who do the mental maths before saying yes, and who still don't want disability to be the main conversation topic. Not hidden. Just not centre stage.
This isn't for everyone by design. If you want a traditional support group or a space to lead with your diagnosis, this probably isn't it. If you want a room where you can just be a person, it absolutely is.
A quick note: this is specifically for people with physical disability, chronic illness and mobility-limiting conditions. There are plenty of wonderful spaces for the neurodivergent community. This one is for people with crappy bodies who are still very much running the show.
What to expect on the night
A small, curated dinner (capped guest list)
Hosted and gently facilitated conversation. No awkward small talk required!
Delicious food and drinks - everyone orders and pays for their own meal on the night
No pressure to disclose diagnosis details or history
Partners, friends, and support people welcome (make sure to book a ticket for them too!)
Accessibility already considered. No mental gymnastics needed.
A focus on normalcy, ease, and a room where you can arrive as you are and leave feeling more like yourself
About the ticket fee
Your ticket covers the organisation of the evening, venue research & booking, facilitation, activities, group service fees, etc.
Food and drinks are ordered and paid for individually on the night, so you're only paying for what you actually consume.
I can't wait to see you there!
xx Sam
Come find us
Join the Facebook community
Follow on Instagram @wayfarer_mobility
Read our Substack
Help shape our product via our community survey
FAQs
- Is the venue accessible?
Absolutely!! Accessibility is a non-negotiable for us.
This month, we're dining at Hawker Hall. Read Access with Ash's review of this location HERE
- What if I have a bad pain day or need to cancel last minute?
We completely understand, that's just life with a physical condition. Cancellations are welcome up to 24 hours before the event for a full refund. If you cancel within 24 hours, we'll do our best, but if the venue charges us for your spot we won't be able to offer a refund. Please let us know as soon as you can, either way, so we can offer your spot to someone on the waitlist.
- Can I bring a partner, friend, or support person?
Yes, absolutely! If they're close to the experience and you'd like them there, by all means, grab them a ticket and come along. This isn't a closed group, but we do ask that guests are either living with a condition themselves or are close to that world.
- Is this only for people with physical disabilities & chronic illness?
Yes. This dinner is specifically for people with physical or mobility-limiting conditions: chronic illness, pain conditions, mobility aid users, and similar experiences.
There are great spaces for the neurodivergent community out there; this one is focused on the complexities of physical limitations. - I don't use a mobility aid, is this still for me?
If you're living with a physical or mobility-limiting condition, yes. You don't need to be a mobility aid user to belong here. Chronic pain, fatigue conditions, post-surgical recovery, fluctuating conditions - if your body is the thing making life more complicated, you're in the right place.
- Can I come alone?
Yes! Most people walk (or roll) in alone but always leave with new connections.
Walking into a room of strangers is always a little daunting, and doing it as someone with a condition that affects how you move, present, or feel on any given day adds another layer. That's exactly why the dinner is small, hosted, and designed to skip the awkward part as fast as possible. We'll take good care of you.
Your Host
Sam Freidin
Hi, I'm Sam - dog & chicken mom, founder, lover of fire-toasted marshmallows, collector of cowboy boots, someone who will always order the most interesting thing on the menu, and, least importantly, mobility aid user. I started Wayfarer Mobility because I got frustrated with how much of the disability experience feels clinical or infantilising - the products, the spaces, the communities. So much of it assumes disability is the loudest thing in the room. The people I know with disabilities or chronic illness are some of the highest-agency, most adaptable, most interesting people I've ever met. They navigate a world that wasn't built for them every single day. They just happen to have a harder time in their physical body than most. That's who I'm building Wayfarer for. We're designing mobility aids that are engineered like a medical device and designed like a fashion accessory. We're also building a community for people who treat disability as a normal part of life. Not something to overcome, not something to centre their entire identity around. The Dinner Club is where that community meets in real life. I'll be at every dinner, hosting and probably talking way too much. I can't wait to meet you.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity