In June of 2021, I was reading a disability forum and  someone wrote that all dating websites for disabled people were either dead or full of scammers. I decided to check to see if it was true. I did a google search and came up with 10 websites for disabled people and I wrote to them, and asked them if they were active and how many members they had. From nine of them I either received no response, or a rather weak response.  I also got the impression that they were either dead or not very high quality. However, my search turned up one that was different. That website is called “Soulful Encounters“. What made it different? I got a response from Louise Maxwell, which was very cautious, but sincere. Louise later told me she was cautious because she thought I was a scammer!! We had a video chat and what developed was a very nice friendship. I learned alot about her and what she is doing.

Below is a brief interview I conducted with Louise by email. Read it and decide for yourself:

Eugene: What inspired you to create this dating website, and what is your primary mission or goal in the online dating industry?

Louise: I always loved going to work and having a purpose in accomplishing something. This came to a close after five major spinal surgeries and three minor ones. I had many hospitalizations from one month to six months every year for nearly ten years. I hardly knew what the outdoors looked like any longer. I wanted to do something to regain a meaningful purpose in life. For years, I managed a medical clinic in which I came across many persons who were disabled. I got to be very close to them and would speak to them directly and not through their caregiver. I did many things for them outside of the clinic (for example their income tax for free) and they appreciated this. I thought that having a disability site was a good place for me. I understood the disabled and felt very comfortable with them. The more I thought of this the more I felt the need to start a site to welcome persons with challenges. After starting this site, I knew this was the best place for me. I managed to bring a lot of free resources to the needy: free medicine, free doctors and even free food. My primary mission was to help ones who felt they could not help themselves. I even prevented about a dozen suicide attempts by getting help to their house.

Eugene: How much does a membership cost?

Louise: The membership is totally free but they have to be verified before entrance. This is to keep off scammers who are looking for money. As far as I know no other site does it this way.

Eugene: How do you pay for your websites costs?

Louise: I use my own money to pay for the web site. My husband used to help me quite a lot but he died one year ago so it has been very difficult. I had to quit advertising and might have to slash some things.

Eugene: Dating websites are full of scammers. I know you have a unique way to make sure that they stay out of Souful Encounters. Can you please tell us about it?

Louise: The Web site stays closed until I reach the person and verify them by phone to make sure it is them who registered here. Some do not give a number and the site stays closed. I have been asked how I know if someone is a scammer. I could tell if a number is a scammer by quite a few ways: the phone number, the zip code given, the area code of the phone number and where they live, (of course some move and keep the same number so I talk to them about that). I have quite a few other ways that I use which I keep to myself. A lot of free sites just let them all in. I have had many members come to me from other sites who tell me that they were scammed.

Eugene: Can you describe the key features and unique selling points that set your dating website apart from others in the market?

Louise: My site is unique because of how hard I try to protect my members by keeping scammers off the site. I also go into the chat room and everyone worries if I am not there. We are like a family in there. I also have an online radio station and my members DJ for me. Some do other little jobs for me. I try to involve anyone who would like to help. It makes them feel useful. Also, once we get to know each other no matter the disability we all look out and help each other.

Eugene: Who are your members?

Louise: The site is worldwide but I have been getting mostly members from United States and Canada.

Eugene: When are they most active?

Louise: The chatroom is most active when the DJs are on because they play the songs while also being involved in the chatroom. Members go there for fun and also to support the DJs as they work hard to entertain us.

Eugene: Can you share any success stories or testimonials from couples who met through your website, highlighting the positive impact it has had on their lives?

Louise: In Soulful Encounters’ few short years of existence and growing membership base we are happy to share some disabled dating success stories of couples who have met and grown together through the Soulful Encounters Disabled Dating and Community website. These members have overcome the struggles of merging two lives together over a distance despite their own situations and now share their lives together. Here are a few stories that they recounted. Molly and Carl I found Soulful Encounters by accident just doing a search for a good place to meet people where it was safe. I received a bonus when I found Soulful Encounters because I am a Special Needs Adult and so it was great .I signed up around Dec. 2008. I only expected to meet and make friends. However, in April, 2009, I received an email from a member who enjoyed my profile and wanted to chat. We ended up chatting and hitting it off and went out on a date in May, 2009. We both fell in love and I proposed to her on July 4th, 2009. Rightaway, Molly, me and her parents started the long process of getting the wedding together. We got married on June 5th, 2010 at Christ Lurthern Church. We had our honeymoon at Holiday World. I really can say this is a great and awesome site. Dani and Shawn Once in a lifetime, you meet someone that you have an instantaneous connection with– someone that makes you feel as if your relationship was destined to be. It only takes a second to be totally captivated by another person’s soul, yet within that second, you realize that the rest of your life will never be the same again. That’s how it was with us… We met on Soulful Encounters chatroom. And, we were both changed forever. It did not matter that we both had physical disabilities and needed wheelchairs.  It did not matter that we lived 2700 miles apart, in different countries. And it did not matter that many of our friends and family members were skeptical about our long distance relationship. Completely obsessed, we started to write, telephone, webcam, and visit in person. Three years after we met, we were married in Tappen, BC, Canada. Due to outside circumstances, our relationship will continue to be a long distance one for now, with occasional visits in person.. But we don’t mind–we know how to make marriage work from across the miles. If there’s one thing we want single people with disabilities to know is that it is never too late to find someone special, nor is it impossible. We never dreamed it would happen to us, yet now we are living a dream.

Eugene: What is your vision for the future, and what new features or innovations can users expect to see on your platform in the coming years?

Louise: As for the future, I just let things happen. As it is, this site started strictly as a dating site for the single disabled and slowly it evolved into a community. Parents, caregivers, doctors of the disabled wanted to belong and then married people whether members or not wanted to come to the chatroom to talk with others with disabilities. So now it is a site for those looking for a significant other or just would like company to discuss situations with others who are disabled whether single or married. I just let things happen that are good for the site and I will see what happens next. Anything is possible.