Community Corner: The charity making social events accessible for everyone

This life-changing project ensures people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people can make new connections, attending the events they love

Socialising with friends is often described as ‘free therapy’. A few hours spent sharing pizza with your besties, or singing at the top of your lungs as you all watch your favourite artist perform their greatest hits on stage, can be like a salve for your soul.

But not everyone has a collection of friends to lean on for support. Which is why, in 2013, Brighton-based charity Stay Up Late launched a programme called Gig Buddies, which pairs people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people with volunteers who share their interests, so that they can socialise together.

Since launching, Gig Buddies has grown from a local idea in East Sussex to a global movement, with 20+ projects now running across eight countries, including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.

Yet the need for this work remains urgent. People with learning disabilities and autistic people continue to face significant barriers to taking part in social life: limited support, safety concerns, inaccessible transport and venues, and digital exclusion, all play a part. According to Mencap, the UK’s leading charity supporting people with a learning disability, these barriers contribute to much higher rates of mental health problems, driven by negative life experiences, fewer resources and coping strategies, and persistent societal stigma.

The picture is similar for autistic adults. A 2019 study, published in Autism Research, found higher levels of depression and anxiety in participants, alongside lower overall life satisfaction. Crucially, it also revealed how fragile social support networks often are: only half of respondents said there was always someone they could rely on for help in a crisis.

Gig Buddies aims to address that gap by matching people with volunteers who are fully trained to accompany them to events they wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend, like gigs, clubbing, and restaurants. “Whether it’s music, culture, eating out, or any nightlife activity they enjoy, we believe that the answers to most of our problems lie within our communities,” says communications coordinator Luke Ellis, “and Gig Buddies is all about unlocking that community spirit.”

In contrast to other organisations that create separate events for people with learning disabilities or autistic people, Gig Buddies allows people to take part in existing cultural and social spaces, whether that’s gigs for ‘metalheads’, club nights for ‘ravers’, or anything in between.

But this kind of socialising is more than just getting out of the house to pass the time. Luke explains that participants report a wide range of benefits, including increased confidence, making new friends, and broadening interests. Plus, finding a sense of belonging within a community is a key predictor of overall wellbeing, as noted in a 2023 article published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, and with loneliness and isolation increasingly cited as a cause for concern in the general population, this is something that everyone deserves access to.

One such person is Pete*, who joined the project in June 2023, wanting to try new things and connect with people his own age. “At the time, he was feeling isolated, having recently lost touch with many of his close friends,” says Luke. “Before being matched with a buddy, Pete came along to one of our social events. He was quiet and reserved, keeping mostly to himself. It was clear that building new connections with fellow buddies might take some time.”

As you might imagine, the ‘matching’ process is crucial to the success of the project. “We meet with all new volunteers and participants to get to know their personalities, interests, and what they need from a buddy,” says Luke. All volunteers take part in one day of training, complete reference and DBS checks, then meet with participants that organisers think could be a good fit.

Following this process, Pete was matched with a volunteer called Ryan. The two quickly became active buddies, regularly attending social events together, and, as their friendship grew, so too did Pete’s confidence.

“From being withdrawn and lacking in confidence at his first social, Pete is now much more open and enthusiastic,” says Luke. “That summer, he joined us, dancing late into the night at our special summer social at the Brighton Fringe Festival’s Spiegeltent!”

At its heart, Gig Buddies is a reminder that friendship shouldn’t be a privilege. In fact, we all deserve a life rich in connection.

*Name changed for anonymity.