Case Calvert

he/him

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Disabled Relating Session

Disability and Scarcity: How Relationship Anarchy Works to Dismantle Loneliness

Saturday, November 7th

3:30 pm

Room: Ballroom D

In this facilitated discussion, I will be opening up space for a conversation about how disability, relationships, and loneliness are deeply intertwined.

There is an often-overlooked reality that disability can create profound experiences of loneliness, scarcity, and disconnection from community. Disabled people often navigate systems shaped by scarcity—of care, connection, and emotional, romantic, and sustainable support—leaving many of us feeling isolated within relationship models that simply aren’t built for our needs.

Through lived experience and collective dialogue, this session will explore three threads: how scarcity and loneliness show up in disabled life; how relationship anarchy (RA) can offer alternative frameworks for disabled individuals to build connection and community beyond traditional relationship norms; and how we might begin dismantling loneliness through more expansive, community-rooted ways of relating.

This is an interactive, inclusionary space that blends personal experience with open dialogue. Rather than a one-way presentation, this session invites audience members into the conversation through questions, shared reflections, dialogue, and collective exploration.
Disabled participants are centered in this space, while non-disabled attendees are invited to listen, learn, and engage with perspectives that may challenge dominant assumptions about care, connection, and relationships.

Ultimately, this discussion is about more than individual experience—it’s about how we transform the relational structures around us. Dismantling loneliness is not about “fixing” disabled people; it’s about moving from scarcity toward abundance, from isolation toward deeply rooted connection, through community-centered and nontraditional relationship frameworks.

Together, we’ll explore what it means to reimagine how we build, sustain, and value relationships in ways that make more room for all of us.

Looking for your people? Midwest Love Fest Relating Sessions are dynamic, identity-centered gatherings where attendees can connect with others who share similar lived experiences while navigating non-monogamy. These facilitated sessions create space for meaningful connections and honest discussions about the unique triumphs and challenges of relating differently within that community. Attendees will build kinship, exchange resources, share perspectives, and find a stronger sense of belonging. 

Key Takeaways

1.

A new understanding of how loneliness in disabled life is not just personal or incidental, but shaped by social structures.

2.

An introduction to relationship anarchy as a lived framework into disabled life and how it combats scarcity and loneliness.

3.

Concrete ways to rethink connection, build community, and make intentionally culture shifts.

Case Calvert is an Indianapolis-based creative, graphic designer, project manager, and disability advocate whose work weaves together design, accessibility, identity, and community engagement. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication from the Herron School of Art and Design, where he developed a foundation in visual storytelling that now extends into marketing coordination, creative project management, and collaborative community work.

Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at a young age and having used a wheelchair for 28 years, Case’s lived experience is central to both his creative perspective and his commitment to accessibility and inclusion. His relationship to movement, access, and interdependence is also shaped by his experience as a disabled athlete—he is a 2011 Powerchair Football World Cup Champion and seven-time U.S. National Power Soccer Champion—accomplishments that reflect deep teamwork, strategy, and sustained dedication at the highest levels of adaptive sport.

Alongside his creative and athletic work, Case is openly queer and polyamorous and practices relationship anarchy, which informs how he thinks about care, connection, and community beyond traditional relational structures. Across all of his work in design and disability communities, he is focused on creating spaces that are more accessible, expressive, and meaningfully connected.”