Shift.ms
Shift.ms is a UK registered charity which supports people recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Shift.ms is a primarily online charity which operates an Internet forum where people with MS can talk to others with the condition. It is a membership organisation for people with MS and it currently (2017) has around 13,500 members worldwide. The organisation’s registered address is in Leeds.
History
Shift.ms was founded in 2009 by George Pepper and Freddie Yauner in response to George Pepper’s diagnosis with MS at the age of 22.
Values
Shift.ms was founded to provide peer support people for recently diagnosed with MS. The charity’s motto states that “The Shift.ms community believes that MS doesn't mean giving up on ambitions, just rethinking how to achieve them.”
Activities
Shift.ms has 8 staff and over 200 volunteers.
Shift.ms runs a programme called MS Reporters which facilitates engagement between people with MS and healthcare and research professionals. The programme is funded by the Wellcome Trust and Comic Relief and works with neurology departments across the UK including The Walton Centre in Liverpool. Over 200 video interviews have been filmed and published to date as part of this ongoing programme.
Shift.ms created an online cognitive behavioural therapy tool for people with MS in partnership with King's College London, which was nominated in the 2016 Tech4Good Awards.