The purpose of our organisation is to give support to its members as well as awareness of the condition to their relatives, GP, place of work and other institutions, as ME is an invisible disability not understood for the majority of people surrounding the patient. Common symptoms include severe exhaustion, un-refreshing sleep, poor concentration, headaches, muscle pain, digestive problems, among others. There is not cure and more biomedical research is needed to find effective treatments.

Why the community needs us
A quarter of a million people, 25% of whom are children, are estimated to have ME in the UK; 25% of them are so severely affected that they are housebound or bedbound; and 77% of adults have lost their job. We offer our members local support through a newsletter, e-mail bulletin, e-mail chat group, WhatsApp group, library, online and face-to-face coffee meetings and advice when dealing with organisations and institutions.

Our impact on the community
We currently have 180 members registered from Richmond and Kingston Boroughs (and surrounding areas) and more people are joining! We have made them felt less isolated and more supported through all the activities we carry out. We have a presentation showing how patients suffer with the condition, we have given awareness sessions to local professionals and we are working towards being more involved with education through our local authority's institutions.