This is a repost of an article I wrote for Guest Check Issue No. III. If you are able to, I encourage you to purchase the digital magazine at the Read Spill shop.

Chronic Inaccessibility – Part II

by Michelle Khuu

It was bucketing down when I got off the bus at Andersonville to meet Katlynn Yost for the first time. I settled down in the corner of La Colombe so I could keep an eye on all the raincoated people walking in through the door. One person squinted at me. I squinted back at her, and decided I should probably take my mask off to make this whole “meeting new people” thing easier on both of us. 

This had the added benefit of making it easier for me to transfer coffee from my cup into my mouth. I still spilled liquid over the table, but that was my fault for overloading the cup with oat milk. Katlynn, on the other hand, settled in with a draft latte and looked right at home amongst the wood and concrete fit out.  

Katlynn Yost is a theater actor and producer, but as anyone involved in theater knows, you need to have a second job to pay rent. Over the past decade, Katlynn has racked up an impressive step count running food up and down multiple flights of stairs between kitchens and dining spaces. She doesn’t do hospitality work anymore though. These days she works as a marketing account manager at a PR and marketing agency while slowly filling up her apartment with philodendrons. 

The thing about disability is that it can hit at any time. For some people, disability turns up at birth, for others, with old age. For Katlynn, it was at the beginning of the global pandemic. As Chicago went into lockdown, Katlynn was recovering from a series of surgeries stemming from several recent illnesses and learning about what it’s like to live life with a disability. 

Katlynn has assured me that she’s okay with me telling you about her diagnoses. I’ve decided not to, because I need you to understand that being disabled is not the same as being sick. While there are some disabilities that are associated with medical conditions, disability is not caused by medical conditions, but rather by a world that does not adapt to the different ways that people interact with the environment. It is possible to be disabled and not sick, or sick and not disabled, much like it is possible to be both disabled and sick. 

I found Katlynn’s perspectives on life before and after joining the disability community to be very interesting. As someone who was born with a disability, I haven’t gone through the process of grieving the loss of something I’ve never had and stumbling across barriers that have always been present. I’d love for you to hear her thoughts too. 

Michelle: Can you tell me about your journey with disability? 

Katlynn: Before 2020, I had a very limited awareness of accessibility outside of it being for folks who are deaf or hard of hearing. I knew about accessibility through my theater company, Chimera Ensemble – we were the first theater company to offer open captioning for every single production, we provide large print and braille programs and we were planning on incorporating sensory friendly performances before COVID happened. But there were other aspects of disability that I didn’t understand.

In 2019, I switched from hospitality to working in marketing in a highly toxic environment (which I’ve since left) and at the same time, got diagnosed with a number of different conditions. Having an invisible condition and being a young person made it hard for people around me to understand my circumstances and take it seriously. 

I quit that place and found a new job that is much more understanding of my needs. It’s been life changing. They really care, and they encouraged me to take time off if I needed.  

I’ve started looking at accessibility from a different perspective. Now I take inaccessibility personally, especially if I see a restaurant with stairs where not everyone can get in. It’s like, you’re saying your bar is only for certain people? 

I think of my parents who were disabled their whole life, and they told me that pain is just how it’s going to be. I’m not going to accept that for myself. It’s a new generation and things need to change.

Michelle: What do you look for when you go out for a drink?

Katlynn: Before I go out, I look for photos of the restaurant so I can see what the floorplan is like and if there will be enough legroom. It’s hard for me to feel comfortable in cramped spaces. I always need to be moving or the pain kicks in. 

I look for the menu to see if there are things I can eat. Because of my dietary restrictions, I have to be really particular with where I go. I’m still working through my own internalized ableism. I’m super embarrassed when I have to ask for something that is gluten free and dairy free. I feel like our society has made it a part of diet fad culture, which is a big problem. It would be nice if everyone had an optional menu that you could choose from and you didn’t have to feel ashamed to ask for it. 

I look for toilet options. I have an “I Can’t Wait” card that gives people with certain medical conditions access to the employee restrooms if there are no public restrooms available, but I’ve never used it. Even though the toilet card is supported by the Restroom Access Act, I still feel ashamed to need accommodations and I don’t want to be that nightmare customer.

I feel like going out into the world requires us to put up mental barriers to try to protect ourselves and get the world to make space for us to exist. 

Michelle: How has your perspective on working in hospitality changed?

Katlynn: There’s a lot of heavy lifting involved in hospitality and being on your feet for long shifts in a fast paced environment. It’s really sad that looking back, I wouldn’t be able to do those things anymore. Usually in restaurants there’s a lower level where the bar is stocked, and that’s not accessible. I can’t imagine a bar hiring a bartender in a wheelchair because of how inaccessible the physical infrastructure is. 

I also needed access to health insurance and a job that would give me the chance to be able to get the medical care that I need. 

Michelle: Have you ever had training on what it means to provide accessible service? 

Katlynn: I’ve been given extensive training on the menu, and the point of sale system, but never on what inclusive customer service looks like. I think restaurants just look for outgoing people and assume that friendliness is all that is needed to provide good service. 

If there was customer service training, I would make it about being adaptable to the different needs people have, and about having empathy instead of sympathy. People with disabilities aren’t seeking pity, just understanding. 

Michelle: What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give people working in hospitality? 

Katlynn: For people who work in hospitality and have a disability, I would tell them to find a supportive colleague to help them speak up in their workplace. It makes such a huge difference knowing that you have a friend on your side. I would also tell them to get advice from other people with disabilities as well. Doctors can’t tell you everything about how your life will change because they look at things from a purely medical perspective. There’s a lot of information about how to navigate the world that you can learn from disability communities. 

For people without disabilities who work in hospitality, I would tell them to use their able bodied status to speak up for accessibility – both for customers and for their fellow employees. 

For owners and managers of hospitality businesses, my advice is to find an access consultant to tell them what they can do to make their business more accessible. Most importantly, they should take the time to ask their staff, “How can we make it easier for you to do your job comfortably?” 

It was something that really upset me in my previous job. While the management said that they wanted to be accessible for customers, it was apparent how little they took the stance of supporting employees. While it’s good to maintain access for patrons, you also need to think of your staff. You can’t just pick one, you need to be all inclusive. 

About Katlynn:

Kat is proud to be the Artistic Director and a founding member of Chimera Ensemble. She is also a marketing account manager at Antenna. You can follow her on Instagram at @katlynnyost

Reader Assignment

Ask your colleagues and employees how you can make it easier for them to do their work. (Remember to do the things they ask for.) 

Tag or DM @readspill with your answers.