Celebrating 10 Years.

This June, we celebrated a huge milestone: 10 years of CoLab.

For the past decade, we've been bringing organisations together to provide joined-up, person-centred support for people experiencing multiple disadvantage and other complex challenges. Alongside supporting thousands of people, we've worked to change how organisations collaborate across Exeter and Devon, proving that when services work together around people, better outcomes are possible.

To mark the occasion, we hosted a series of anniversary events for staff, volunteers, visitors and partner organisations, ending with our Hope into Action celebration. More than 60 people from local government, health, education, policing, businesses and the voluntary sector came together to reflect on the last 10 years and look ahead to the future.

Over the past year, our Welcome Team recorded more than 16,400 visits, with around 70% from people returning for ongoing support, showing that CoLab has become a trusted place where people feel safe, welcomed and supported.

Our collaborative approach continues to make a difference across local systems too.n 2025, our High Intensity Use (HIU) Flow programme helped reduce pressure on emergency services while generating estimated NHS savings of more than £125,000, all while improving outcomes for the people we support.

It also brought national recognition when Her Majesty Queen Camilla visited Brave Spaces, our service supporting women affected by trauma and multiple disadvantage. During her visit, she praised our trauma-informed approach, saying, "We need more CoLabs."

Reflecting on the anniversary, our CEO Fiona Carden said:

"I'm incredibly proud of what our team, partners and community have achieved together over the last 10 years. CoLab has always been about more than delivering services—it's about bringing organisations together around people, creating opportunities and building stronger communities. The challenges facing our communities continue to grow, which makes collaboration more important than ever. As we look ahead, we're excited to keep building partnerships, influencing change and creating more opportunities for people to thrive."

Our anniversary has been a chance to celebrate how far we've come, thank everyone who has been part of our journey, and look ahead with hope.

Here's to the next 10 years!