A Turners Falls business wants to help you with your honey-do list, no matter who that honey may be.

Handiqueers is a collective of independent handy service providers that was founded by Tracy Lee, who goes by T, and their partner Acey Neel.

Taking inspiration from similar queer handy service collectives on the West Coast, Lee started Handiqueers in 2020. Lee said they found there is local demand for LGBTQ handy service workers by clients who are queer themselves, female identifying or who are looking for diversified options in who they hire for small projects outside of cisgender, heterosexual men.

To get started, Lee put together a website and logo, and became a certified business. From then on, requests for services piled up.

“Once I had that all put together, I made the announcement and jobs started coming in,” they recounted. “And why it became more than just me is that lots of jobs are coming in … and I need more people.”

As Lee began taking on jobs, they began putting out the word that Handiqueers is hiring, and applications from local queer handy people began pouring in. Lee conducted interviews with experienced candidates and the collective began taking on work requests from across the region.

“I always joke that T threw her first cast out and caught a shark. It was immediate,” Neel said of Lee starting Handiqueers.

As a freelance collective with between six and eight people at a time, Handiqueers operates on an hourly rate for services that range from basic household maintenance and repairs, bathroom and kitchen tiling, yard work, power washing, interior and exterior painting, and light carpentry and building projects. Lee sees the work orders come in, and people can self-assign to a job based on their availability and the type of job.

When a member of the collective takes on a job, they bring their own set of tools, and in situations when there are materials necessary, Lee said they can work with that client on purchasing what is needed.

For those working with the collective, including Lee and Neel, Handiqueers can act as a supplemental income for people with full-time jobs or other commitments. Neel said she enjoys the flexibility around the collective, as well as the fulfillment she gets from doing handy work.

Last summer, Lee said the business was very busy, with plenty of service calls coming in. This year, business is slower but more manageable, with around five to 10 service requests submitted weekly during the spring and summer months.

As for their rates, jobs can range from $55 to $75 an hour based on the skills required and the tools needed for the job. A $30 administrative fee is also added on, and Handiqueers charges 50 cents per mile for any jobs that are outside of the 20-mile work radius for each handy person. Discounts are also available for people with disabilities and people of color.

With the rates being on the higher end, Lee explained, they always direct people to the Rates and Services page on the Handiqueers website before any work begins so the client can understand what they are paying for. Additionally, they want the client and the handy person to feel comfortable and well-informed, especially when work being done can be in a personal space.

“Just as much as we want people to feel safe with us coming in their homes, we want to feel safe going into their homes, and that’s actually really important to me, because when I walk into someone’s house, I know they’re queer and they’re friendly and there’s a vibe,” Lee explained. “They’re usually [assigned female at birth] mostly. That feels really great to me, but it can still be intimidating to go into someone’s house and be among personal stuff.”

Outside of hiring for work, Handiqueers also offers a do-it-yourself power tools workshop to small groups every few months. Guests learn how to safely use power tools like drills and saws, and by the end of the workshop, each guest can take home something they created. Lee explained there’s been a level of gatekeeping around power tools based on societal gender roles that people at the workshops have mentioned.

“For a really long time, cisgender men, white mostly, have been gatekeeping this trade work and making [assigned female at birth] people feel like that’s not for us,” they said. “One of my favorite things is it’s five people that sign up for each workshop, and they come in here and I say, ‘What’s your relationship to power tools?’ And honestly, most of the answers have been, ‘I grew up with power tools around me, but I wasn’t allowed to use them.’”

While Handiqueers serves anybody seeking assistance on eligible projects, its client base tends to be LGBTQ people, women and female-identifying individuals.

In attending local Pride events like Franklin County Pride in Greenfield and Hampshire Pride in Northampton, Neel recalls having conversations with people who feel safe discussing their identities with them and expressing to her what value they feel Handiqueers provides in western Massachusetts.

“A lot of the feedback we get is like, ‘I’m gonna have to pay somebody to do this, I would rather pay you guys,’” Neel said. ‘“I would rather pay a queer person, I would rather pay a trans woman, I’m so glad you exist.’”

Having seen her partner work on the collective from the start, and dedicate time and money to the business, Neel said Lee has acted with integrity.

“This is not about making money,” she said. “It is about providing a service for the community.”

To learn more about the services provided by Handiqueers, visit handiqueers.com.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.