The Stimpunks Foundation exists for the direct support and mutual aid of neurodivergent and disabled people. Oftentimes that can look as simple as just giving people cash, as studies have shown that no strings attached financial aid is one of the most effective ways to prop up individuals in need. But the Stimpunks are also building their website into an invaluable resource for their community, mining studies for relevant research and making that knowledge accessible for all, while also building a glossary of vocabulary that helps people engage with the latest research. Their organization is founded on four pillars: mutual aid including direct giving, creating a learning space for anti-ableist education, creator grants and supporting research efforts.

In this episode of the Major Pain podcast we sit down with Stimpunks co-founder and creative director Ryan Boren and executive director Chelsea Adams to learn about their mission and the history of their organization. They also share a bit about their own health journeys, as they both live with a constellation of health challenges. For Ryan this journey has involved benign fasciculation syndrome (which is horribly misnamed considering the non-benign nature of the symptoms), neuromyotonia and stiff person syndrome. For Chelsea, she struggles with the combination of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), migraines, mental health challenges and body pain issues, while learning about her own neurodivergence.

While this episode gives you a general overview of the Stimpunks organization, you can learn much more on their website at https://stimpunks.org. Major Pain is a proud recipient of a Stimpunks creator grant. You can request a grant to fund a disability/neurodivergence related creative project here: https://stimpunks.org/creators/