Joy as a brand new community garden opens at The Autism Hub in South Shields

The outdoor space, named the Tranquility Garden, was officially opened on Wednesday, July 12, after work began on transforming the outdoor area earlier this year.

Children from Westoe Crown Primary School were invited to come up with a name and a logo for the garden, which will be accessible to service users and staff at The Autism Hub, on Gordon Street.

The Autism Hub is home to the Toby Henderson Trust, who support young people up to the age of 18, and Autism in Mind, who provide support to adults over the age of 18.

Fiona Richards, manager at The Autism Hub, told the Shields Gazette where the idea came from to create the perfect outdoor space for service users.

She commented: “We moved into the building around six weeks before the first Covid-19 lockdown so we were forced into supporting families and young people virtually.

“When we eventually got back into the building, we put all our efforts into making sure that it was a great space internally for the families and the outdoor area wasn’t really given a second thought.

“So at the start of this year it was decided that we would benefit from an outdoor space which would help the wellbeing of both our service users and staff.

“We share the Hub with Autism in Mind so we had a chat with them, as well as the families we support and our staff to come up with some plans for the garden.

“Everyone just came together to help create the garden which was great to see as it was a mammoth job, it was like a jungle before we started the work.”

Fiona also revealed that the garden has been developed with everyone in mind to ensure that it is a space for all to use.

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She added: “The space is really great, we’ve had so much positive feedback from everyone that uses it.

“We have ensured that the garden is inclusive and welcoming for everyone, especially for things such as sensory differences because what might work for one person might not work for another.

“Now the garden is an extension of what we can offer at The Autism Hub as it is a safe space for people to come and enjoy, we’re just really proud of it.”

The Toby Henderson Trust at the Autism Hub is open from 9am until 4pm every Monday to Wednesday and provides specialist support to parents and families of autistic children, without requiring a referral or a confirmed diagnosis.

The staff can provide services such as one-to-one family support, support groups, targeted webinars, and more.

You can find out more by clicking here.