SocialLight Social/Support Group - Connecting Disabled People Together

07/08/2025

Feedback required on proposed changes to the running and future plans for the SocialLight Group

Dear members, guardians, carers and friends,

I hope you are well and in good health and looking after yourself and keeping cool this hot summer.

This message/announcement was originally sent out a few years ago but there was no response and no feedback from anyone.

I write to you to bring you an announcement of news and updates on proposed changes and future plans for the SocialLight group.

It has been a very tough time for the SocialLight group as the turnout of new members joining and existing/new members attending our meetup get-togethers have been very low and not frequent as the group has not been running very well to full capacity.

People have joined and left, come and gone, and I have not had enough feedback to help me improve the running of the group and move things forward.

The group’s get-togethers have been running since May 2021 and we had a good turnout attending our July 2021 get-together.

For the benefit of other disabled people, in collaboration with a few friends, SocialLight was set up to run a regular monthly coffee and lunch social group get-together event for people with disabilities to come together and meet for social interaction to chat, socialise, meet people and make new friends, have a drink and something to eat, and to also be used as a support group to share and discuss worries, problems and any issues they are having.

The aim and objective of this coffee/lunch social/support group meetup event is to improve the social life, mental health and wellbeing of disabled people, to get them more active and socially engaging and interacting with others and to remove their anxiety, depression, isolation and loneliness.

We have been very low on numbers which was originally caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We need more people and more new members to join the group and attend our meetup get-togethers, which have been suspended for a few years and will resume when we have more interest and receive the feedback that we need.

Please note that this group is for people with disabilities who are between 18 to 45 years old who live in the United Kingdom only.

It has been brought to my awareness and attention that:

• There are not many, and not enough London members to attend the in-person meetup get-togethers.
• Most of the London members that are already in the WhatsApp group are not, and have not been attending the meetup get-togethers.
• The majority of members are either studying or working on Saturdays.
• There are not many disabled people in the local area and in surrounding areas/towns/boroughs.
• The majority of members and non-members who live in London are not able to travel and get to the venue and attend the meetup due to their location and location of the venue.
• Coffee mornings and afternoon lunch gatherings in a café is not popular and may not be appealing and suitable for the majority and does not meet their socialising standards/expectations.
• Members leaving the group due to a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the group rules, showing/expressing a dislike towards the rules and showing/expressing disinterest in the group for the rules and the nature/environment setting of the meetup get-togethers.
• Showing/expressing a misunderstanding and a dislike towards the £10 ticket system.
• The £10 ticket system may be a deterrent for new members and causing barriers and hindrance for expanding the group.

I am proposing the following future plans and changes to Improve the group and move things forward:

• The meetup get-togethers will take place and run on Mondays, not Saturdays.
• The ticket system will be free. The £10 charge will be scrapped and members will be asked to book free registration tickets instead.
• If the free ticket booking system does not work, the ticket system will be completely scrapped.
• I will start running online meetup get-togethers on Zoom, which will run for one hour, once every two weeks. Please request for more information if you’re interested and want to join the zoom get togethers.
• The in-person meetup get-togethers will either run once every two months, or will be completely scrapped if the online Zoom get-together take off and become very successful.

No finalised definite confirmed date has been decided for these plans and changes to be put into action.

The changes cannot be made and implemented without you. I require your feedback, suggestions and ideas to the ideas, plans and changes I stated in the above bullet lists. Please give me your feedback and let me know your thoughts of what you think on everything.

If you have any further extra additional feedback, suggestions and ideas that I have not listed, please let me know.

Your input, assistance and support would be greatly valued and appreciated and would be very grateful and appreciate your feedback and thoughts on how I can improve the group, move things forward and make the group better.

Please forward and share/circulate this post to those who may be interested for their awareness and attention and to get more interested new members to join the group.

Many thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight 18-45 Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together
E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497
Date: 7th August 2025

16/01/2023

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year and all the best for 2023.

The SocialLight group is back and running again and a new date has been arranged for Saturday, 21st of January 2023.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please note that due to commitments and change of personal life circumstances and continuous on-going lack of interest and low numbers turnout/attendance for the in-person meetup get-togethers, the January 2023 get-together will be the last one. All further future meetup get-togethers will be postponed until further notice.

Regarding my recent announcement on future plans and proposed changes to the running of the SocialLight group, I have not received enough comments and feedback from enough members to implement changes. Please contact me to express your interest and your willingness to attend future meetup get-togethers if you wish to attend and if you want me to resume and continue running the meetup get-togethers in the future.

This group is for members aged between 18-45 years with disabilities only.

Where: Arthur’s Café/Arthur’s Catering
170 Arthur Road, Wimbledon Park, London, SW19 8AQ
Telephone no: 020 3602 4318
Email: arthurswimbledon@gmail.com
Website: https://www.arthurscafewimbledon.com/
When: Saturday, 21st of January 2023
Time: 11am-2pm

The venue has wheelchair access.

Please view the below links regularly for updates and details.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Face masks are no longer compulsory and not required to be worn on the premises. It is your choice whether you want to wear one or not.

There is a first aid box available on site should any group member have any small, minor incidences and injuries. Any major or severe accidents need to be addressed by the emergency services.

There is also a defibrillator attached to the wall outside.

Members can request for their food and drink to be served in disposable boxes and plastic utensils. If you wish for this, please let a member of staff know when ordering.

Please note, for those attending, drinking alcohol and smoking is not allowed on the premises, and possession of ci******es and any alcoholic drinks at any of the group gatherings is strictly prohibited on the premises. Please smoke and drink alcohol outside.

If you yourself or anyone else you know who has a disability and is interested in joining the group, and/or if you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me personally/directly on the following contact details below.

Keep an eye out for updates and announcements and dates of the running of the group and venue details.

SOCIALLIGHT ONLINE NETWORK LINKS

Reddit profile homepage: u/SocialLight-Group https://www.reddit.com/user/SocialLight-Group

SocialLight Social Group subreddit (community group page): r/SocialLightGroup https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialLightGroup/

Add us as a friend on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/imransociallight

Like our page at: https://www.facebook.com/sociallightsw19

Join our Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sociallightsw19/

Meetup group page: https://www.meetup.com/SocialLight-Group/

SocialLight Eventbrite homepage: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/imran-at-sociallight18-45-socialsupport-group-30964940851

View our Eventbrite event ticket page at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/515694154097

Please contact me to be added into the SocialLight WhatsApp group. Due to a high volume of calls and messages, please allow up to five days for a response and for your enquiry to be answered.

If you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together

Cafe | Arthur's Cafe and Coffee Shop Wimbledon is an independent cafe in south west london ( wimbledon ) who produces home made foods and cakes which are freshly baked on site. We welcome everyone to come visit us and try some of our homemade delights! we have massive range of food and drinks

25/12/2022

RULES FOR MEETUP EVENTS, FACEBOOK, FACEBOOK MESSENGER, REDDIT/SUBREDDIT AND WHATSAPP GROUP

Hello, and a very warm welcome to the SocialLight group.

On behalf of the admins and organisers here at SocialLight, we warmly welcome you and thank you for joining our group. We are a very friendly, relaxed community where members can chat about anything and everything within reason and boundaries, interact, socialise, meet and get to know members in our groups before attending our meetups and hopefully make new friends.

We hope you enjoy your time with us and make good friendships in our community.

New joining members and existing members must be a UK citizen and must have a disability to join the SocialLight WhatsApp, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, subreddit and Meetup groups and to attend our in-person meetups.

Members must be living in the UK with a disability to join!

Parents and carers/guardians are allowed to join the SocialLight Facebook group and the 18-45 age limit will not be applied to them. If you are a parent or a carer/guardian and wish to join, please let us know.

To ensure a very friendly, lively, happy and safe atmosphere, members must respect each other and be respectful and considerate of members’ mental health, wellbeing, feelings, honour, dignity and integrity when engaging in friendly banter and friendly joking.

To protect and ensure our members’ safety, security, mental health, wellbeing, privacy and confidentiality, we ask you to obey and comply with following our major rules for our online community and for attending our meetups.

All members will be given three chances and three strike warnings for breeching any of the minor rules unless otherwise stated. After three strikes, members will be removed from our groups but can still attend our meetups. Members will be allowed back into the groups at the discretion and decision of the admins.

The following major rules are strictly not allowed for whatever reason under all circumstances.

Major rules
Zero tolerance and strict prohibition on the following major rules:
• THIS IS NOT A DATING GROUP
• No flirting or any dirty, s*xual behaviour allowed which disturb and cause discomfort towards the opposite s*x. This will not be tolerated at all!
• Sexual harassment is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated
• Excessive and extreme swearing, use of bad/strong obscene and vulgar language is strictly prohibited
• Bullying in all shapes and forms is strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated
• Offensive name-calling to cause upset and hurt, cussing, cursing and swearing at other members is strictly prohibited and forbidden under all circumstances and this will not be tolerated at all!
• No mocking, ridiculing, degrading, defaming, debasing, belittling, bullying and insulting other members
• No condescending behaviour allowed
• No derogatory remarks and personal attacks against any member
• No s*xual and explicit chats allowed
• No s*xual, lewd, n**e, pornographic, explicit content to be posted in any of our groups and on the Meetup group and event community pages
• No gossiping negatively about other members causing them harm
• No badmouthing other members
• No racism allowed
• Respect other members’ religions, faiths, beliefs and ethnic backgrounds
• Possession of drugs is strictly prohibited and will be asked to leave the event immediately and will be banned from our groups and attending our events if this happens again for the second time
• Physically aggressive, violent and disorderly behaviour from members will not be tolerated at our events and will be asked to leave and will be permanently banned from our entire online network and attending our events if this behaviour is repeated again for the second time.

Members will only be given one warning and one more chance to stop this behaviour or face permanent ban and removal from the WhatsApp group and attending our events.

Minor rules
• Excessive swearing, use of bad/strong and obscene language is not allowed
• All advertising and promoting of any material and content, including advertising and promoting other groups, is strictly not allowed in our SocialLight groups. Members must seek permission and approval from an admin before posting in our groups.
• Smoking and possession of ci******es, and drinking alcohol and any alcoholic drinks at any of our events is strictly prohibited on the premises and will be confiscated from the member. Refusal and failure to comply will be asked to smoke and drink the alcoholic drink outside.
• New joining members must type or voice message an introduction and introduce themselves to all other members in our groups whether it be voice messaging or typing so all other existing members know who you are. Failure to do so after a few weeks will result in a temporary removal from the groups but you can request to rejoin.
• New joining members must voice message in the groups at least once upon joining and their first voice message must include them talking for more than 5 seconds. Failure to do so will face temporary removal but you can request to rejoin.
• Members must be active and talking in the groups.
• Members must not be inactive in the groups for no longer than one month or will be removed out of the group.
• Members can re-join the groups and can contact an admin to request to be added back into the group.
• Please talk to members in our groups.
• Do not private message members without seeking and obtaining their permission from them in the group first.
• For the benefit and inclusion of our blind and visually impaired members, please provide alt text and description captions to all and any picture/image you post in our online communities, describing what is in the images and what the images are, so that our blind and visually impaired members do not miss out on the content that is being posted in the group.

We advise that If you do decide to private message members in the WhatsApp group and on Facebook Messenger without their permission, you must introduce yourself to them and tell them how and where you got their number and ask if they would like to chat with you or not.

Please note that It is the choice and decision of the members and at their discretion if they don’t want to talk to you and to ignore your messages or block you from receiving unsolicited private messages from you.

Please do not abruptly/suddenly cut off communication and do not abuse and misuse the block function when communicating with members in private chats. We are a support group as well as a social group and all members are supposed to be here for one another, listen to each other what issues and problems they are having and/or going through and help and support each other through their hardships, struggles and difficult/bad times.

Please think carefully before blocking a member and be more understanding, supportive, empathetic and sympathetic when they talk to you openly and speak their mind, thoughts and feelings. Please report to an admin if any problems and/or any issues/problems arise.
For any queries and questions and if any important or urgent issues or emergencies, please contact one of the admins of our online groups or an organiser or host at our events.

We ask you to resolve all issues and disputes between yourselves before involving and seeking assistance and intervention from any of our team.

Please also note that we will not be held responsible and liable for any communications and disputes between members outside of our online group and outside of our events. We will not interfere and be directly involved in members’ friendships but we can assist if any major fallouts and disputes happen.

If you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact Imran.

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy the group.

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together

E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497
Revised and updated by Imran on 12th July 2022

24/12/2022

Feedback required on proposed changes to the running and future plans for the SocialLight Group

Dear members, guardians, carers and friends,

I hope you are well and in good health and looking after yourself and keeping warm this cold winter.

I write to you to bring you an announcement of news and updates on proposed changes and future plans for the SocialLight group.

You have received and/are reading this message because:

• You expressed an interest via e-mail and disclosed your e-mail address.
• You are the parent, carer or guardian of an existing member and have been sent this announcement message for your information and awareness to the contact details you provided.
• The announcement message text in this post has been copied and posted online by your organisation/charity on their social media platform pages on my behalf.
• You are already an existing friend of mine and provided me with your contact details for the group.
• You are viewing/reading this in RNIB Connect London and South East Facebook groups, VICTA and VI Talk Facebook groups and on Nextdoor where the group has been previously advertised and this announcement/notice has been posted there.
• The PDF document version has been in circulation and has been sent from myself and passed on and forwarded to you for your awareness and attention by someone you know or have had contact with recently.
• You joined/subscribed to and viewing the SocialLight Meetup page on meetup.com, page and Facebook group pages, SocialLight Group Reddit subreddit community page.
• You are in the SocialLight WhatsApp group.
• You have received this as a PDF document version via e-mail directly from myself or from your organisation/charity via e-mail as part of the public advertising, and have previously provided your email address and given consent to receive information, updates and communications about the SocialLight group via e-mail.

Please note that this group is for members with disabilities who are between 18 to 45 years old who live in the United Kingdom only.

It has been a very tough time for the SocialLight group as the turnout of new members joining and existing/new members attending our meetup get-togethers have been very low and not frequent as the group has not been running very well to full capacity.

People have joined and left, come and gone, and I have not had enough feedback to help me improve the running of the group and move things forward.

The group’s get-togethers have been running since May 2021 and we had a good turnout attending our July 2021 get-together.

For the benefit of other disabled people, in collaboration with a few friends, SocialLight was set up to run a regular monthly coffee and lunch social group get-together event for people with disabilities to come together and meet for social interaction to chat, socialise, meet people and make new friends, have a drink and something to eat, and to also be used as a support group to share and discuss worries, problems and any issues they are having.

The aim and objective of this coffee/lunch social/support group meetup event is to improve the social life, mental health and wellbeing of disabled people, to get them more active and socially engaging and interacting with others and to remove their anxiety, depression, isolation and loneliness.

We have been, and are still very low on numbers caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We need more people and more new members to join the group and attend our meetup get-togethers.

It has been brought to my awareness and attention that:

• There are not many, and not enough London members to attend the in-person meetup get-togethers.
• Most of the London members that are already in the WhatsApp group are not, and have not been attending the meetup get-togethers.
• The majority of members are either studying or working on Saturdays.
• There are not many disabled people in the local area and in surrounding areas/towns/boroughs.
• The majority of members and non-members who live in London are not able to travel and get to the venue and attend the meetup due to their location and location of the venue.
• Coffee mornings and afternoon lunch gatherings in a café is not popular and may not be appealing and suitable for the majority and does not meet their socialising standards/expectations.
• Members leaving the group due to a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the group rules, showing/expressing a dislike towards the rules and showing/expressing disinterest in the group for the rules and the nature/environment setting of the meetup get-togethers.
• Showing/expressing a misunderstanding and a dislike towards the £10 ticket system.
• The £10 ticket system may be a deterrent for new members and causing barriers and hindrance for expanding the group.

I am proposing the following future plans and changes to Improve the group and move things forward:

• The meetup get-togethers will take place and run on Mondays, not Saturdays.
• The ticket system will be free. The £10 charge will be scrapped and members will be asked to book free registration tickets instead.
• If the free ticket booking system does not work, the ticket system will be completely scrapped.
• I will start running online meetup get-togethers on Zoom, which will run for one hour, once every two weeks. Please request for more information if you’re interested and want to join the zoom get togethers.
• The in-person meetup get-togethers will either run once every two months, or will be completely scrapped if the online Zoom get-together take off and become very successful.

No finalised definite confirmed date has been decided for these plans and changes to be put into action.

The changes cannot be made and implemented without you. I require your feedback, suggestions and ideas to the ideas, plans and changes I stated in the above bullet lists. Please give me your feedback and let me know your thoughts of what you think on everything.

If you have any further extra additional feedback, suggestions and ideas that I have not listed, please let me know.

Your input, assistance and support would be greatly valued and appreciated and would be very grateful and appreciate your feedback and thoughts on how I can improve the group, move things forward and make the group better.

Please forward and share to those who may be interested for their awareness and attention and to get more new members to join the group.

Many thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight 18-45 Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together
E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497

03/11/2022

DATE CHANGE SocialLight November group meetup get together

Hello again everyone!

Due to personal/private circumstances, something important has come up on the 12th November which cannot be rearranged.

I have changed the date of this month's meetup get-together for the SocialLight group and have arranged and agreed the new date with the venue for November 19th.

This group is for members aged between 18-45 years with disabilities only.

Where: Arthur’s Café/Arthur’s Catering
170 Arthur Road, Wimbledon Park, London, SW19 8AQ
Telephone no: 020 3602 4318
Email: arthurswimbledon@gmail.com
Website: https://www.arthurscafewimbledon.com/
When: Saturday, 19th November 2022
Time: 11am-2pm

The venue has wheelchair access.

Please view the below links regularly for updates and details.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Face masks are no longer compulsory and not required to be worn on the premises. It is your choice whether you want to wear one or not.

There is a first aid box available on site should any group member have any small, minor incidences and injuries. Any major or severe accidents need to be addressed by the emergency services.

There is also a defibrillator attached to the wall outside.

Members can request for their food and drink to be served in disposable boxes and plastic utensils. If you wish for this, please let a member of staff know when ordering.

Please note, for those attending, drinking alcohol and smoking is not allowed on the premises, and possession of ci******es and any alcoholic drinks at any of the group gatherings is strictly prohibited on the premises. Please smoke and drink alcohol outside.

If you yourself or anyone else you know who has a disability and is interested in joining the group, and/or if you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me personally/directly on the following contact details below.

Keep an eye out for updates and announcements and dates of the running of the group and venue details.

SOCIALLIGHT ONLINE NETWORK LINKS

Reddit profile homepage: u/SocialLight-Group https://www.reddit.com/user/SocialLight-Group

SocialLight Social Group subreddit (community group page): r/SocialLightGroup https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialLightGroup/

Add us as a friend on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/imransociallight

Like our page at: https://www.facebook.com/sociallightsw19

Join our Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sociallightsw19/

Meetup group page: https://www.meetup.com/SocialLight-Group/

SocialLight Eventbrite homepage: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/imran-at-sociallight18-45-socialsupport-group-30964940851

View our Eventbrite event ticket page at: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/440738068427

Please contact me to be added into the SocialLight WhatsApp group. Due to a high volume of calls and messages, please allow up to five days for a response and for your enquiry to be answered.

If you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together

27/10/2022

SocialLight November group meet up get together

Hello! The SocialLight group is back and running again and a new date has been arranged for Saturday, 12th of November 2022.

This group is for members aged between 18-45 years with disabilities only.

Where: Arthur’s Café/Arthur’s Catering
170 Arthur Road, Wimbledon Park, London, SW19 8AQ
Telephone no: 020 3602 4318
Email: arthurswimbledon@gmail.com
Website: https://www.arthurscafewimbledon.com/
When: Saturday, 12th November 2022
Time: 11am-2pm

The venue has wheelchair access.

Please view the below links regularly for updates and details.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Face masks are no longer compulsory and not required to be worn on the premises. It is your choice whether you want to wear one or not.

There is a first aid box available on site should any group member have any small, minor incidences and injuries. Any major or severe accidents need to be addressed by the emergency services.

There is also a defibrillator attached to the wall outside.

Members can request for their food and drink to be served in disposable boxes and plastic utensils. If you wish for this, please let a member of staff know when ordering.

Please note, for those attending, drinking alcohol and smoking is not allowed on the premises, and possession of ci******es and any alcoholic drinks at any of the group gatherings is strictly prohibited on the premises. Please smoke and drink alcohol outside.

If you yourself or anyone else you know who has a disability and is interested in joining the group, and/or if you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me personally/directly on the following contact details below.

Keep an eye out for updates and announcements and dates of the running of the group and venue details.

SOCIALLIGHT ONLINE NETWORK LINKS

Reddit profile homepage: u/SocialLight-Group https://www.reddit.com/user/SocialLight-Group

SocialLight Social Group subreddit (community group page): r/SocialLightGroup https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialLightGroup/

Add us as a friend on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/imransociallight

Like our page at: https://www.facebook.com/sociallightsw19

Join our Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sociallightsw19/

Meetup group page: https://www.meetup.com/SocialLight-Group/

SocialLight Eventbrite homepage: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/imran-at-sociallight18-45-socialsupport-group-30964940851

View our Eventbrite event ticket page at: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/440738068427

Please contact me to be added into the SocialLight WhatsApp group. Due to a high volume of calls and messages, please allow up to five days for a response and for your enquiry to be answered.

If you have any further queries and questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

E-mail: sociallightsw19@gmail.com
Mobile: 07835420497

Imran
Founder and organiser for SocialLight Social/Support Group – Connecting Disabled People Together