Who are we?

Koala provides opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent (ND) members of our community (including those with learning disabilities LD) to meet their peers and access support and training in a sensory-safe environment, supported by volunteers who understand their barriers to engagement.  

75% of our volunteers are autistic and we are autistic-led.  We support all ages from toddlers to adults, and parents/carers through peer support groups (both in person and online).  A diagnosis is not needed to access any of our services.

Many of our community struggle with extreme anxiety, making access to groups difficult. For this reason, our group sessions are demand-free.  This means that we don’t force anyone to talk or interact and provide safe spaces for people to go when they are feeling overwhelmed.   We often work with people 1:1 to help them access groups – this may be a pre-video chat or simply meeting someone outside the building when they first begin visiting.

Koala has expanded quickly – we only have one part time member of staff and are fully volunteer-led.  Unfortunately, this is not sustainable long term.  We receive multiple requests every day to support parents, young people and adults and know that this additional support (through enablement and mentorship) is desperately needed in our community.  Not only will it prevent people from experiencing mental health decline but it will also ensure that neurodivergent people, and those with LD, can live happy and secure lives in their own community.

This Crowdfunder will specifically fund our peer support groups and our Enablement project.  Once we have achieved our funding we will also be able to offer weekly peer support groups (most of our sessions are monthly or bi-weekly which our community often find difficult to navigate!)

Adult community members will join our Enablement programme for 8 weeks. During that 8 weeks we will pair them with an Enablement Support Worker who will work with them on a goals-focused plan. This plan will be fully led by the individual programme participant and help support truly independent and sustainable strategies and life skills.

The focus may be attending health appointments, working on ways to help executive functioning around diet, budgeting, social enabling or specific goals that the individual is finding are barriers to them enjoying a safe and independent life.

During the programme we will ensure that we engage with all local services, organisations and authorities to help prevent future crises and help our community feel safe and empowered.

The goal will always be for our programme participants to fully integrate into our peer support groups so that they can access lifelong support from their peers.  The programme will commence with adult support and then, once fully operational, expand to support Teens and their parent/carers.

We already offer 33 hours of in-person and online support PER MONTH!  This includes Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Young People not in School, Adults, Parents, Young Adults, Parents and our LGBTQ+ groups.

The funds raised will be used to expand the support we currently offer. The funds will enable us to: 

• Meet community demand – we are largely volunteer-led and do not have capacity to support the demand for our services
• Create a sustainable legacy for future generations
• Create a community enablement/mentorship programme 
• Commence providing community outreach services
• Help to relieve the overstretched services of GPs, CAMHS, hospitals and CMHTs
• Allow our community to engage with therapeutic services and health/social care, in a space they feel safe in, without waiting until in crisis, providing a preventative service.

Running costs

Below is a rough idea of our running costs, plus those for the enablement programme:

£5 pays for a sensory fidget toy for our sensory room

£10 pays for our main room for 1 hour

£15 pays for the cooking resources for 1 session

£20 pays for the art resources for 1 session

£30 pays the costs of a support worker running a group session

£45 pays the room rental cost of 1 peer group session

£50 pays for a counsellor to join a peer group session

£75 pays for STEM resources for 4 sessions

£100 pays for an art therapist to join a peer group

£150 pays for a set of sensory tiles for our sensory room

£200 pays for an outing for one of our peer groups

£250 pays for resources for all groups for one month

£325 pays for 1 person to access the the enablement project for 8 weeks

£1000 pays for a month's rent at the hub

£2500 pays for a full-time support worker for a month

£3500 pays our insurance for a year

£12000 pays for our rent for a year