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Help A Disabled Civil Celebrant Stay Mobile & Keep Serving Her Community
I’m Dionne, a newly qualified family celebrant — and right now, the only thing standing between me and the work I’m trained and ready to do is a car. Without reliable transport, I can’t officiate funerals or weddings or help families celebrate newborns. This one barrier is stopping me from earning a purposeful living, supporting my community, and maintaining my independence.
Why I Need Your Help
Funerals often involve multiple locations in a single day — something impossible by public transport.
- You can’t follow a funeral cortege on a bus.
- Weddings are frequently held in rural or remote venues.
- I can’t run across a field with my walking stick in one hand, a folder in the other, hoping a bus will get me there before the bride walks in.
Without a car:
- Funeral directors won’t book me
- Wedding planners and other suppliers will not refer me
- So, I can’t grow the business I’ve trained so hard for without transport
- For me, an automatic car isn’t a luxury — it’s essential! For my profession and my health.
My Health & My Reality
I live with fibromyalgia, arthritis in my spine, hypomobility, and other long-term health conditions. Some days I move freely; other days, making a cup of tea is a challenge. I recently lost my mobility benefit — not because I’m healed, but because of government shortages and the lack of understanding of autoimmune disabilities.
Since I can only work part‑time, I have not been able to sustain a full-time income or find work that won’t negatively impact my health. Being a civil celebrant is the one job that enables me to be financially independent. However, without transport, I’m trapped in a benefit cycle: unable to work enough to afford a car, and unable to get a car because I can’t work enough. Hence, the cycle is perpetuated.
This isn’t just about income. It’s about regaining my dignity and independence from the benefit system, contributing to society, and taking a step towards my survival. Without this, I risk losing more than a profession - I’m at risk of losing my home.
Why This Matters Beyond Me
I’m not just another celebrant. I am a bisexual, disabled woman of colour in a profession where voices like mine are almost invisible. I serve people who often don’t feel seen, heard or represented by their own, such as the LGBTQ+ community, disabled people, people of colour, and blended families.
This isn’t just about a car. It’s about who gets to be represented, honoured, and held in life’s biggest moments.
What Others Say
“Dionne, we can't thank you enough for how gently, compassionately, respectfully, lovingly and skillfully you took us through the process of preparing for Nick's funeral and memorial. We felt very supported, safe and held each step of the way.
You went above and beyond in the time and dedication you put into preparing everything.”
You can see what I’ve built so far here:
What Your Donation Supports
Your support will help me get a small, accessible car so I can get safely and sustainably on the road, where I can work, support families, and rebuild my independence.
How You Can Help
Donate — any amount, big or small, makes a difference
Share — spreading the word helps more than you know
Because right now, this one thing — a car — will give me independence, dignity, and contribute meaningfully to my community and to my survival.
With love, gratitude and hope.
Dionne
Co-organizers7
Andrene Miller
Co-organizer
cherrelle skeete
Co-organizer
florence barnett-howland
Co-organizer
Gabrielle Russell
Co-organizer