Shift.ms is the community for people with multiple sclerosis (MSers).

Founded by MSers, for MSers, as a charity we offer social and emotional support, inspiring MSers to take charge of their health as soon as possible after diagnosis. We’re independent and we’re free.

We’re big on ensuring that the voices of those with lived experience shape everything we do, and over the past year we have strengthened our commitment by appointing a Service Design Lead, engaging MSers in co-producing resources, and exploring ways to better support employment, mental health, and long-term wellbeing.

We’ve consulted with MSers, families, carers and health care practitioners to understand their challenges and explore how we can help them provide effective support.

Our focus is on understanding impact, meeting unmet needs, and improving quality of life for the MS community. Full details of our progress and plans can be found in the full report.

Our volunteers are the driving force behind our impact. 99% of our 225 volunteers live with MS themselves, offering empathy, guidance, and connection that only lived experience can provide. This year, over 4,000 hours have been donated by our incredible volunteers on projects ranging from educational content creation to 1-1 mentoring through The Buddy Network.

Our free app connects MSers worldwide, offering health resources, community forums, and personalised peer support through the Buddy Network. We launched it in May 2024 and one year on, we’ve seen an increase of over 10,000 members and have an average 4.7 star rating across app stores.

The app has been co-produced alongside our community, ensuring that MSer voices are heard, loud and clear, in every iteration.