Update 2

Hello everyone 👋

It's me again back with another update. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of your support - we've had some ideas, some tough decisions to be made and even a few headaches BUT it's time I shared how things are going.

Phase 1 Update

In the last (and perhaps first update ever) I shared 7 (including weekly Google Meet Calls) bullet points in phase 1 of things that are changing. Here's an update on that phase;

1. The Young Adults with ARDID website has been upgraded to reflect the changes in how we want information to be shared - specifically with our main bar. We will still aim for a new website release but will be aiming for Mid 2026 for this release. For now, we are making do with what we have and refining it.

2. We decided to move forward our new member join deadline and removed the ability to login / register to the site. Today, we've removed all access to groups, forums and other pages requiring a user account. In addition to that, as promised, we have permanently deleted all user accounts today (31st August 2025).

3. Our connect program closed on time on the 9th August 2025. Data collected was permanently deleted. We also ended our courses yesterday (30th August 2025).

4. Weekly Google Meet calls have also been suspended.

It's been quite a busy phase. Since this phase of works was announced, we had suggestions from some of you in the community so let's touch on that in phase 2.

Phase 2 Update

In the last update, I shared how phase 2 will focus on our social media platforms. We've decided to push this back and focus on "information you need". Everything mentioned here is available to view on our Trello board for full transparency. So what's the plan...

1. We're investigating a way of building a recipe bank that you will be able to use to find a meal you will enjoy based on the foods you either enjoy or have marked as "safe". No signup required. We anticipate this will be ready by the new year but it may take longer.

2. We're bringing back our food chaining information page with relevant ideas, examples of real world use and even recipes for you to try (we may link these to the recipe bank but we have not confirmed if we want to do this yet). We will be updating this page with new information tailored for Young Adults from trusted sources and available research.

3. Graduates - I see you 👀. You've asked if we can help give you information about ARFID and the world of work. Our page on this will be written and setup in the coming weeks so please bare with us. If you are employed and have tips to share, please let us know and we will share them with everyone! (we will thank you for your tips too).

Longer Term

In the long term, we will look at social media again and ways we can disseminate information from our website to our various platforms. We also want to look at redeveloping our website and even how we might host courses and events in the future too. As always we are open to suggestions.

Facebook Group

A dedicated Facebook Group update? We've noticed that a few members of our Facebook group will use our page to vent about ARFID with some posts being done back to back (within the space of an hour usually - this is not a joke). We recognise that our Facebook group is a incredible tool to help support those who genuinely need it but at times of desperation when there's nobody to ask we have to ask ourselves "is this a call for help?". So from September 2025, we will be looking at intervening when someone is calling for help because as cliché as it sounds - nobody should suffer in silence.

I hope this update gives you a sense that we are working hard to bring Young Adults with ARFID back and better than ever. If you need us, shout because we will do whatever we can to support you.

Jay

Young Adults with ARFID