A New Start and a Safe Space by AJ

Hi, I am AJ. I had it kind of rough growing up because there were a lot of things dragging me down. One of the biggest things was that I was not diagnosed with autism until I was in my twenties. Because I did not understand myself, I ended up spending time with people who were not real friends. I tried things I should not have tried and did things I should not have been doing. All of this made everything a lot worse.

From the age of 18 to 24 I became a shell of my former self. When I look back now I do not even recognise who I was. I struggled with addiction and with severe mental health problems like anxiety and depression. By the time I realised what was happening, it felt too late. I thought my fate was sealed and I watched many of my old friends fall before me.

Then I found AWP through a friend. AWP gave me an outlet and a place to go where people did not know the person I used to be. It gave me a clean and safe space to breathe again. I was nervous at first but the staff and the people who attend were really accommodating. As I slowly became less nervous, I started to notice that small parts of my old self were coming back. So I kept going. Now I love it there. I even have my own friends.

And when I say friends, I mean real friends. People who would not let me fall the way people in the past did. I still struggle with addiction a bit, but thanks to AWP I can officially say that I will spend 2026 sober.

Some of my best memories at AWP include last years Christmas activity, the sound bath session, and the pumpkin patch trip where I made my first friend. I do not remember her name because I have not seen her since, but she showed me around the petting zoo and that meant a lot. I also met two other friends who I still keep in contact with outside of AWP and who help me keep my head above water every day.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who works at AWP, everyone who attends, and everyone who funds the activities. Without you all I am not sure where I would be.