Celebrating 10 Years: Reflecting Back, Looking Forward
This June marks a huge milestone for us: 10 years of CoLab.
A full decade of partnership, innovation, challenge, growth, and community.
Anniversaries naturally invite reflection, a chance to pause and look back at where we started, what’s changed, and what we’ve learned along the way.
Where It Began
Ten years ago, the vision was both simple and ambitious:
Bring organisations together under one roof.
Break down silos.
Wrap support around people instead of sending them door to door.
At the time, this model felt bold, even risky.
But it was built on a powerful belief: that collaboration could create better outcomes than isolated services ever could.
A Decade of Impact
Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen that belief come to life in ways we could never have fully predicted.
Together, Hub partners have:
Supported thousands of people across Exeter and beyond
Tackled complex social challenges through joined-up working
Piloted innovative programmes and partnerships
Influenced local systems and strategy
Created a community rooted in compassion and relational practice
The building has been many things over the years; a place of crisis support, recovery, learning, advocacy, and opportunity.
But above all, it’s been a place of welcome.
Celebrating the Journey
Our anniversary celebrations in June will be a chance to honour everyone who has been part of this journey:
Founding partners and visionaries
Current resident organisations
Staff and volunteers past and present
Funders, supporters, and civic leaders
Most importantly, the people and communities we exist to serve
We’ll be marking the moment through shared events, storytelling, reflection spaces, and opportunities to reconnect with those who’ve shaped the Hub over the last decade.
Looking to the Next 10 Years
While anniversaries are about reflection, they’re also about momentum.
Because the challenges facing our communities haven’t stood still, and neither have we.
As we look ahead, our focus is on:
Deepening collaboration across sectors
Strengthening lived-experience leadership
Expanding learning and skills opportunities
Influencing systems change
Creating more inclusive, trauma-informed spaces
Using our collective voice to advocate for equity and justice
The next chapter isn’t just about sustaining the model — it’s about evolving it.
A Collective Achievement
Reaching 10 years is no small feat.
It speaks to the resilience of partnership working, the dedication of those who show up every day to do the work, and the trust placed in us by the communities we serve.
This anniversary belongs to everyone who has walked through our doors, whether to give help, receive help, or build something better alongside us.
So this June, we celebrate the past.
But we also set our sights firmly on the future.
Because if the first 10 years have taught us anything, it’s this:
When people come together with shared purpose, extraordinary things happen.