Do you have a lifetime illness, are you disabled and feel like you have nowhere to turn? Then Limitless might be the group for you.

Limitless is a support group/network for people who have chronic illness, long-term illness and/or disabilities, set up by 20-year-old Keira Miller from Glasgow.

It was set up to help people who may need more than just support for individual issues. Keira believes that while there are barriers in place, most notably accessibility, ill or disabled people should be able to have a social life, even if it means making adaptions.

They said: “I’m a massive advocate for accessibility within the hospitality industry and pretty much every industry, because the accessibility of restaurants, nightclubs and pubs in Glasgow is actually quite shocking.”

Limitless has two groups that they are aiming to expand.

“We have the local group that we’re setting up for people who live in Scotland,” Keira said. “We also have our international group which is run through our Discord server and Facebook group. This is to help connect people from around the world to show that there are people who maybe live near you or are in the same country as you who are going through similar things. Not everyone is experienced in disabilities or chronic illness, so it helps to have people who have a similar understanding.”

Keira struggled to trust people when they were growing up, and so they hope that this group can prevent others from feeling that way. They said: “It can be so isolating. Especially when you’re in my position with a chronic illness, you feel as though you have no one around you. You want to be able to do more than one thing in a day but sometimes you feel like you physically can’t. So I want to make sure there’s a place for people who do feel isolated so they know they can come somewhere where they’re important and loved and cared for, regardless of who they are or what conditions they have.

“I spent a lot of my younger years navigating a diagnosis and it really felt like I had no one. A lot of my inspiration comes from a group called Versus Arthritis, a company/charity I have worked with closely. It’s all about children who have arthritis and finding ways to support them. I want a network like that but on a wider scale, because while it’s great to have support in place for arthritis, there should be support in place regardless of your condition or different neurology. There should be something for everyone.”

And Keira isn’t doing it alone because they have a solid network of staff to help them on the Limitless journey.

“My co-owner, Mack, is 19-years-old and he is from Idaho. We both thought of this idea while, very funnily, just watching YouTube videos. It was 3am over here and I was like, ‘Mack, I have this idea, do you want to hear about it?’ And from there, it has become this wider project. He has been great.

“Our social media manager, Cassie, is amazing. She’s been helping me set up social media pages, getting ideas of what to post, running the social media. Her main job is basically teaching me how to use social media despite me being 20 years old! But she also manages that side of things. She figures out what to post, what not to post, and stuff like that.”

Although the group is still in its early stages, everyone behind the scenes is passionate about it and are keen to make it the best it can possibly be. They already have plans for how they are going to get people to meet up.

“With our local group, we would aim to have a night-out or a coffee meetup or any activities suggested by people attending, either once a month or every two months,” Keira said. “Just to give us time to plan and to check accessibility.”

Limitless are already holding calls inside their Discord server to engage people, and with more members coming through the door every day, it is certainly on the right track.

Keira said: “Our whole goal is the fact that everyone deserves fun, everyone deserves friendship, everyone deserves to have life experience without believing that their chronic illness is a barrier for that. Too often, we’re told we can’t do things and that we should stay home because we’re asking for too much. We know that’s not true, but we have to build spaces that work for us and that’s what Limitless is all about.”

The Limitless Discord server is available to join if you think that this would be helpful for you. They also have a Facebook group.

Limitless: The new support network for disabled and chronically ill people