The problem

Going somewhere new can feel like a risk. A cafe might be too loud. A park too crowded. A gym too overwhelming. For autistic people and their families, that uncertainty is often enough to stay home entirely.

My brother works as a carer. A close friend of mine is autistic, and so is her child. I watched both of them navigate the same problem from completely different angles - my brother calculating whether a place would be manageable for the person he supports, my friend doing the same calculation for herself and her child every single time they left home. Whether the cafe would be too loud at noon. Whether the park would have enough space to breathe. There was no tool for any of them. Just memory, experience, and sometimes a difficult journey home.

I am Dr Sai Raj Ali, founder of MindHaven. I have a PhD in Physics and an MSc in Data Science from Middlesex University London. I did not plan to become a founder. I simply could not stop seeing this problem.

MindHaven began as a risk. When my dissertation supervisor had to step back due to serious health reasons, I took the decision to turn MindHaven into my research. That decision changed everything. In January 2026, after months of work, I had a breakthrough - it is possible to measure how a place feels using publicly available UK data. Noise levels, green space, crowd pressure, physical accessibility. No hardware. No tracking. No personal data. That became the scientific foundation of a platform that now covers 197,130 locations across London.

The solution: MindHaven

The problem is an information problem, not a personal one.

Cities are not designed with sensory comfort in mind. For autistic adults, carers, and families, unpredictable environments - a crowded cafe, a noisy park, an overwhelming street - are not inconvenience. They are a reason not to go out at all.

In early testing across 1,212 venues in Camden and Islington, the results were clear. The majority of participants told us they struggle consistently to find sensory-friendly spaces. Most said they felt more confident planning outings after using MindHaven. And nearly all said they would use it regularly once more venues are listed.

The problem is real, widespread, and currently unsolved at scale.

How MindHaven works

MindHaven gives every location in London a ComfortScore - a single number that tells you how calm, accessible, and manageable a place is likely to be before you arrive. It is built from four things that matter most to sensory comfort: how quiet a place is, how much green space surrounds it, how crowded it typically gets, and how physically accessible it is.

Through your NeuroPassport - a private sensory profile stored only on your device, never sent to any server - MindHaven filters 197,130 London locations to show only the ones that genuinely work for you.

You do not need to understand how it works. You just see what fits.

What makes MindHaven different

Most accessibility tools tell you whether a ramp exists or whether a venue is wheelchair friendly. MindHaven does something no other tool currently does - it measures how a place is likely to feel before you arrive, using environmental data rather than reviews or guesswork.

There is no app that maps sensory comfort across an entire city. No tool that combines noise levels, green space, crowd pressure, and physical accessibility into a single score for 197,130 locations. And no platform that filters all of that privately, on your own device, around your specific sensory profile.

MindHaven is not a review platform. It is not a venue directory. It is a decision tool - built for the moment before you leave home, when the only question that matters is: will this place be okay for me?

You do not need to understand the scoring. You just see what fits.

Who does MindHave help, and how?

Neurodivergent individuals, carers, and families face the same question every time they leave home: will this place be okay? Right now, there is no reliable way to answer that before they arrive.

MindHaven answers it. A ComfortScore for every London location, filtered privately around each person's sensory needs, before they walk out the door.

That is who this is for. That is what your support makes possible.

Who we are

MindHaven is led by Dr Sai Raj Ali and built by a team of 10 plus researchers, technologists, and community advocates through the Enactus MDX student enterprise programme at Middlesex University London. Our academic mentor is Dr Christopher Moon, Senior Lecturer in Eco-Entrepreneurship at Middlesex University London. Our neurodivergent adviser is Boudica Atheldene, Peer Support Worker at Autistic Parents UK.

Recognised by:
- Santander X Explorer - Top 15 of 3,000 projects globally
- Bentley iTwin4Good - Highly Commended 2025
- Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 - Winner at Middlesex University London
- Enactus UK Nationals 2026 - national semifinals

Where we are now

MindHaven has been built entirely through research, community conversations, and in-kind support from Middlesex University London and Enactus UK & Ireland. Our ComfortScore methodology was validated across 1,212 venues in London as part of peer-reviewed dissertation research. We then took those findings directly to autistic people, carers, and support workers to validate what the data was showing us.

This campaign is our first direct fundraising effort. Every pound raised goes toward getting a working, validated platform into the hands of the people who need it.

What you contribute here is what bridges the gap between research and reach.

Timeline

Project needs

What will we do with the money?

MindHaven already exists. 197,130 London locations are scored and ready. This budget is not about building something from scratch. It is about getting a working, validated platform onto phones and into care homes.

We need two things: funding and people. Both matter equally.

Minimum Goal: £500 - Reaching the people who need it most

The first £500 covers everything needed to get MindHaven legally published on Android and iOS and into the hands of the communities who need it most.

This includes the one-time and annual fees required to publish on the App Store and Google Play, printed Comfort Reports and awareness materials for care home visits and community events, travel to attend SEND gatherings and autism networks across London over three months, and a small contingency to protect against unexpected platform costs.

Without reaching this goal, MindHaven cannot publish on iOS or Android. That is the honest starting point.

Optimal Goal: £3,000 - A Full Year of Protected Growth

At £3,000 we can do everything above, and sustain MindHaven through its first full year of public operation.

The additional funding covers an infrastructure emergency fund to keep the platform online if costs rise unexpectedly, an extended care home pilot across ten London sites with structured feedback and a public outcomes report, continued community outreach through the full year, printed materials for SEND schools and autism parent networks, a short captioned explainer video, academic write-up of the ComfortScore research, and renewal of the platform's domain and hosting.

We will publish a full itemised breakdown at mindhavenuk.com within 30 days of the campaign closing. Every pound tracked, every outcome reported honestly.

If we exceed £3,000

Every additional pound goes toward: BSL translation of key content, a formal accessibility audit conducted by disabled users, trademark registration, and expanding ComfortScore validation to new boroughs nominated by Borough Steward backers.We will publish a full itemised financial report at mindhavenuk.com within 30 days of the campaign closing. Every pound tracked. Every outcome reported honestly.

If we do not reach our minimum goal

All funds are returned in full. No one loses anything. If we do reach our goal, every pound is tracked. We will publish a full transparency update within 90 days of the campaign closing - showing exactly what was spent, what it delivered, and what comes next.

Non-financial needs

Funding alone will not get MindHaven to the people who need it most.

SEND Professionals and Autism Practitioners - 3 to 5 people

Occupational therapists, SEND coordinators, autism support workers, or clinical psychologists willing to review our NeuroPassport framework and validate our sensory language. Your name appears in our research outputs and you strengthen a tool built for the community you serve.

Care Homes and Residential Support Providers - 5 to 10 organisations

London care homes, day centres, or residential support providers willing to trial our Area Comfort Report in real outing planning and give structured, honest feedback. No technical knowledge required.

Venue Partners - 10 to 20 venues

Any cafe, library, leisure centre, museum, or public-facing space in London willing to complete a short self-assessment and receive a free ComfortScore audit. You gain free visibility on the platform at launch.

Press and Media Contacts - 3 to 5 people

Journalists, bloggers, or content creators covering disability, neurodivergence, urban accessibility, or social enterprise. We have strong data, a clear human story, and university-backed research.

Community Voices with Lived Experience – 2 to 3 people

Autistic adults or carers willing to share their honest experience of MindHaven on their own channels. Authentic voices carry more weight than anything we could write ourselves.

A Note on Privacy

Your NeuroPassport and sensory profile never leave your device. MindHaven's local weighted scoring runs entirely on-device. No personal sensory data is ever sent to any server. Where AI may be used is only on public, anonymised venue data - for example, extracting sensory cues from thousands of public reviews. No personal information is involved at any stage.Your sensory self stays private. The city's data becomes more useful.