Become a member

Real is led by our members. By joining, you can help shape our work, share your experiences, and hold decision-makers to account.

Whether you want to campaign for better access, influence local services, or stay connected with what’s happening in Tower Hamlets — your voice matters.

Membership is free and open to all D/deaf and Disabled people who live, work, or study in Tower Hamlets.

We also welcome Organisational members who want to support our work and stand alongside the Disabled community.

As a member, you’ll get:

If you believe in giving D/deaf and Disabled people a stronger voice — join us today

Who can become a member of Real?

Anyone can join Real. Your membership type depends on your situation:

Organisations join as Associate members.
Individuals who identify as D/deaf or Disabled and live, work, study, or volunteer in Tower Hamlets become Full members
If you identify as D/deaf or Disabled and have another link to Tower Hamlets (for example, you used to live here or support our work), your application will be reviewed by the board.
If you don’t have a connection with Tower Hamlets, you can still join as an Associate member

Both Full and Associate members are valued parts of Real. Full members can vote in Board elections.

Full Membership

for disabled people who live or work in Tower Hamlets

Associate Membership

for non-disabled people, organisations and allies

What we ask of you

Real is a charity and a ‘company limited by guarantee’. This means there are two things Members and Associate Members must do:

1. Support Real’s vision, mission and values

When you sign up to be a Member you are saying that you agree with Real’s vision, mission and values. These are the reasons we exist and the principles we want to follow when we run our services. You can see them on our Vision, mission and values page.

2. Agree to pay £1 if Real ever closes

The law says that every membership organisation like ours must ask members to agree to pay £1 if the organisation ever closes and owes money. So, even though Real’s a strong organisation and plans to be going for a long time, we need to ask members to agree to this condition.

When you fill in the membership form, the last section asks you to agree to these two points: that you share our vision, mission and values and that you will pay £1 in the unlikely event that Real closes and has debts.