Mental health services in the UK are currently struggling to meet the rising demand. The Mind, The Big Mental Health Report 2024, reveals that one in five young people in England have a mental health problem, and intentional self-harm is a leading cause of teen death. The Young Minds Report highlights a 52% increase in young people waiting over a year for mental health support. Mainstream services often fail neurodivergent people by labeling them as "disordered" and excluding those with diagnoses like psychosis or disordered eating.

Aiyana Goodfellow, founded NEUROMANCERS at just 15 years old. Their approach is deeply rooted in lived experience and is shared by their entirely neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ team. Aiyana’s commitment to emotional safety and identity-affirming care stems from a profound understanding of the failures of the current mental health system.

NEUROMANCERS aim to:

• Provide safe, free, identity-affirming emotional support for young people aged 18–25 experiencing loneliness or distress.
• Train a diverse team of peer volunteers through a bespoke, trauma-informed curriculum, building skills, confidence, and leadership.
• Foster long-term community wellbeing through care infrastructure that reduces burnout and focuses on dignity and autonomy.
• Redefine what mental health care looks like, shifting the system toward culturally competent, peer-led, non-medical models of support.
• Use research and lived experience to influence broader mental health policy, showing how consent-led peer support can create scalable, systemic change.
• Break down access barriers like cost, stigma, and fear, particularly for those excluded by traditional services.

Aiyana Goodfellow is the founder of NEUROMANCERS. Aiyana is neurodivergent and leads an entirely neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ team, many of whom are also Black or Asian. Their leadership is grounded in lived experience and a commitment to creating community-rooted alternatives to mainstream services.