Level Up is a weekly, participant-led group for disabled and neurodivergent adults aged 26+ who have “aged out” of 3rd Space, our youth hub. Support for disabled young people typically ends at 25, and Level Up helps them maintain links and further their independence through:

Level Up is essential to sustaining this community as participants reach adulthood.

Staying well

We talk about interdependence rather than independence – everyone needs people they can rely on. Participants decide what they want to do and staff help facilitate. When our participants try something new, staff go with them the first time; supporting with itinerary and travel, plus emotional support, the next time participants go on their own, then report back. Because we see participants every week, staff spot early signs if things are going wrong and step in before crisis: chasing housing providers, helping book GP appointments, supporting with prescriptions and health appointments, and advocating when services are not delivering. Services respond differently when a disabled person has an advocate.

Inclusion and wellbeing

Adults with a learning disability are often excluded from mental health services, including crisis team support. Participants are responding by fundraising to support disabled people with mental health needs. After a group outing to see This Is Fred, a play about a puppet losing his PIP, they began scripting their own film, This Is Us, about how the world is for them. One participant wrote a song about their own mental health, now set to film. On residentials they also practise social situations their peers take for granted, such as a pub meal and deciding whether, and how much, to drink.

Connections and resilience

Reaching out into their community: for example, they held a cake sale fundraiser, inviting local councillors and community leaders to attend. We took the group by minibus to a Building Circles party in Gloucester, 7–10pm on a Friday: something their peers do freely, but which they could only otherwise do alone with individual care staff, never together as friends. Several now use Building Circles’ Gig Buddies scheme and recommend it to younger 3rd Space participants.

Place-based

The group meets every Friday at 3rd Space, their chosen community and, in their words, “like home”. Many participants have been coming for years, some first came camping with us in teens and are now in their thirties, with lifelong friendships and a place they feel safe, comfortable and able to express themselves.