Welcome to The Jay Gees, a small but loud collective of pipeline rats, code genies, and disabled makers building tools that center accessibility, autonomy, and community. The name JG started as jeangenie — a nod to the David Bowie song The Jean Genie — and evolved into a whole identity: the Jay Gees, the genies in the machine, the rats in the pipes, the people who build what we need because nobody else will.
This org is home to the Spoonie Helper project and the experimental infrastructure that powers it, including ROCm‑based local AI training, domain‑scraping tools, and accessibility‑first design patterns.
We build local‑first, privacy‑respecting, accessibility‑centered tools for disabled people — especially spoonies, Deaf/DeafBlind folks, neurodivergent people, and anyone who needs tech that doesn’t treat them as an afterthought.
Our work is grounded in disability justice and the legacy of Camp Jened.
“For we are leaders of inclusiveness and community, of love, equity, and justice.”
— Judith Heumann
This quote guides Jened the Spoon, the philosophy behind Spoonie Helper and the Jay Gees: we build for each other, with each other, and we build access into the foundation.
A narrative timeline of how this org came to be. Phase 0 — Domain Scout
The very first experiment: a domain‑ranking tool that prioritized community‑owned, disabled‑owned, and BIPOC‑owned domains. It introduced the community‑first scoring system that still influences our work today. Phase 1 — Vendor Finder / AccessiFind
Domain Scout evolved into a vendor‑discovery tool for assistive tech, mobility aids, sensory tools, and disability‑owned shops. This phase proved that disabled‑centered search is both possible and necessary. Phase 2 — Runbook Experiments
We built personal runbooks for chronic illness management, troubleshooting routines, and symptom tracking. This became the backbone of Spoonie Helper’s structure. Phase 3 — Spoonie Helper (Current)
The flagship project. A local‑first, accessibility‑first toolkit for spoonies to manage routines, resources, and self‑care workflows. Phase 4 — Local AI Infrastructure (Ongoing)
To support offline use, we built ROCm‑based training pipelines for QLoRA and PyTorch on consumer AMD GPUs.
Public repos include:
ROCm 7700XT QLoRA Training
https://github.com/thejeangenie18/rocm-7700xt-qlora
ROCm 7700XT PyTorch Environment
https://github.com/thejeangenie18/rocm-7700xt-pytorch
These repos power the local inference and fine‑tuning experiments behind Spoonie Helper.
What it is:
A local‑first assistant for chronically ill and disabled people. It helps manage:
routines
symptom logs
escalation steps
resource lists
accessibility‑friendly workflows
offline‑capable AI helpers
What it stands for
Local‑first: your data stays on your device
Accessibility‑first: built for Blind, DeafBlind, spoonie, and neurodivergent users
Community‑first: shaped by disabled people, not corporations
Privacy‑first: no analytics, no silent network calls
Local‑First Architecture
No silent network calls
No cloud dependencies unless explicitly enabled
Offline‑capable AI models
User‑controlled backups and sync
Accessibility as a Hard Requirement
DeafBlind‑standard alt text
Screen‑reader‑first structure
Keyboard‑only navigation
High‑contrast and low‑cognitive‑load design
Plain‑language documentation
Open Source, But Not Open Season
We welcome contributions — but accessibility, privacy, and community safety come first.
Spoonie Helper (Flagship)
Local‑first disability‑tech assistant. Domain Scout (Archive)
The original domain‑ranking engine. AccessiFind / Vendor Finder (Archive)
Assistive‑tech vendor discovery tool. ROCm AI Training Repos (External but Related)
Maintained under the founder's personal account:
https://github.com/thejeangenie18/rocm-7700xt-qlora
https://github.com/thejeangenie18/rocm-7700xt-pytorch
I’m Jillian, a Deaf, neurodivergent, Disabled, non‑traditional coder building the tools I wish existed. I work local‑first because disabled people deserve privacy. I build accessibility‑first because disabled people deserve dignity. I build community‑first because we deserve each other.
Clone the flagship project: bash
git clone https://github.com/the-Jay-Gees/spoonie-helper.git
cd spoonie-helper
Documentation lives in the /docs folder. Local‑first mode is enabled by default.
See the full CONTRIBUTING.md below. Accessibility is not optional here — it is the foundation. CONTRIBUTING.md Contributing to The Jay Gees Projects
Thank you for wanting to contribute. This project is built by and for disabled people, and contributions must uphold that purpose.
Accessibility is mandatory
Privacy is mandatory
Local‑first design is mandatory
Community safety is mandatory
Disabled people lead the direction of the project
“For we are leaders of inclusiveness and community, of love, equity, and justice.”
— Judith Heumann
This quote guides the Jay Gees. Every contribution must reflect these values.
DeafBlind‑Standard Alt Text
All images must include:
literal transcription of visible text
description of layout and relationships
description of purpose
no interpretation or filler
Screen‑Reader‑First Structure
All UI and docs must use:
correct heading hierarchy
semantic HTML
ARIA roles when appropriate
logical focus order
no visual‑only indicators
Keyboard‑Only Navigation:
All interactive elements must be fully operable without a mouse.
Plain‑Language Documentation
Write clearly, directly, and accessibly.
Local‑First Data Handling:
No silent network calls.
No cloud dependencies without explicit opt‑in.
Before submitting a PR:
[ ] All images have DeafBlind‑standard alt text
[ ] Screen‑reader semantics validated
[ ] Keyboard navigation tested
[ ] Documentation is plain‑language
[ ] No violations of local‑first policy
[ ] Tests pass
[ ] PR description is clear and scoped
Open an issue with:
steps to reproduce
expected vs actual behavior
environment details
❤️ Thank You
Your contributions help build a future where disabled people have tools made for us, not around us. "Nothing about us without us."