ND BrainSpace turns one – with the gift of local investment to increase our impact 💛

One year after our first ND BrainSpace meet-up, funding from Warwickshire County Council’s Councillors’ Grant Fund and Stratford Town Trust is helping us build on what we’ve learned and expand our impact across local communities.

This month, ND BrainSpace celebrates its first birthday.

A year ago, we held our first monthly meet-up in Stratford-upon-Avon with a fairly simple idea: to create somewhere neurodivergent people could meet, connect, share experiences and hopefully feel a little less alone.

A lot has happened since then.

We’ve gone from one monthly meet-up to three opportunities to join us each month: our original Stratford-upon-Avon group, online lunchtime sessions, and sessions at Hastings House Medical Centre, supported by the Friends of Hastings House charity.

We’ve developed our monthly topic format, exploring everything from masking and identity to boundaries, executive functioning, relationships and change. The sessions combine accessible information and practical ideas with something we think is equally important: the chance to learn from each other.

Because so often the moment that really matters isn’t something written on a presentation slide. It’s hearing someone else say something and thinking, “Oh. You do that too?”

We’ve also had our first summer social at Lifeways, started exploring more opportunities for people to connect outside our monthly sessions, and learned a huge amount from the people who have become part of the community.

And as we head into year two, we’re really pleased to have some new investment that will help us build on that work.

New investment in local connection

ND BrainSpace has been awarded  Warwickshire County Council’s Councillors’ Grant Fund to support the next stage of our work.

The funding has been awarded with support from Cllr Steve Albon (Stratford West), Cllr Cliff Brown (Bidford & Welford), Cllr George Cowcher (Wellesbourne), Cllr Lorraine Grocott (Stratford North), Cllr Chris Mills (Kineton & Red Horse Division) and Cllr Kate Rolfe (Stratford South).

We’re also delighted to have received a small grant from Stratford Town Trust to support our work with people living in Stratford-upon-Avon town.

For us, this isn’t simply about making ND BrainSpace bigger. It’s about increasing the impact of the work we’re already doing — using what we’ve learned over the last year to reach people who may currently find connection difficult and create more accessible ways for people to become part of their local community.

Building on what we’ve learned 

One of the clearest things we’ve learned is that wanting connection and finding connection easy are two very different things.

Our community research found that 83% of respondents identified social confidence and anxiety as a challenge, while 75% identified confidence and self-esteem. People also told us about loneliness, difficulties making and maintaining friendships, burnout and other barriers that can make connecting with others and participating in community life harder.

ND BrainSpace has grown from neurodivergent lived experience, and that perspective will continue to shape our work. It has helped us recognise how traditional opportunities to connect don't necessarily work for everyone — and the importance of moving beyond assumptions about what being social, participating, or belonging should look like.

At the same time, connection is a human need, and every one of us is different. Loneliness, social anxiety and barriers to belonging aren't exclusively neurodivergent experiences.

So rather than creating one model and expecting people to fit into it, we want to explore different ways of connecting that recognise those differences.

That could mean familiar small groups, interest-based activities, online spaces, social events, opportunities to participate without pressure, or simply having clearer information beforehand so you know what to expect.

Over the coming year, we’ll also work collaboratively with local GP surgeries, social prescribers, and community organisations across Stratford-upon-Avon, Wellesbourne, and surrounding communities. We want to strengthen local connections, reach people who may currently be experiencing loneliness or social anxiety, and explore how existing community opportunities can become more accessible to different people.

Ultimately, the impact we want to see is quite simple: more people finding ways to connect that work for them, building confidence and relationships, and feeling that they belong within their communities.

A very big thank you

Perhaps the biggest thing we’ve learned during our first year is that ND BrainSpace has been shaped by the people who have become part of it.

So thank you.

To everyone who has come to a session, joined us online, shared something, listened, filled in a survey, joined us for a social, recommended ND BrainSpace to somebody else, made a referral or simply told someone that we exist — you’ve helped us get here.

And thank you to the organisations, professionals, community partners and funders who have supported the work and recognised why creating accessible opportunities for connection matters.

As we move into year two, please keep telling us what you think.

Keep sharing your ideas and experiences. Tell us what works, what doesn’t, what gets in the way and what might make things easier.

We’ve learned so much from each other over the last year, and that’s how we want to continue.

Listening, learning and finding better ways to connect — together. 💛