OUR STORY
When you’re managing chronic illness, everything becomes harder; simple tasks require strategy. The medical system treats symptoms, not lives. And worst of all? You’re expected to navigate a system that doesn’t work for spoonies while pretending everything’s fine.Â
We know because we’ve lived it. Amanda has been fighting for almost two decades. Michelle watched her mum’s battles before learning that watching the fight is nothing like being in it.
Spoonies deserve better, and a band-aid approach won’t work. To create long-term change, it needs to be backed by a sustainable business model.
That’s why Alivio works on two levels: helping individual spoonies through our tools and community while changing the system through bigger picture initiatives. We’re funding research, educating medical professionals, building better tools and systems, and creating more opportunities for spoonies.
This isn’t about quick fixes or miracle cures. It’s about building something that lasts, something that changes how the world sees and treats chronic illness, and something that ensures future spoonies don’t face what we’ve faced.
MISSION
Building affordable, effective tools and an authentic community. Always BY spoonies, FOR spoonies, WITH spoonies. Creating a movement that enables us to fund long-term systemic change for chronic illness warriors.Â
VISION
A future where chronic illness is met with compassion, surrounded by community, not isolation. Where chronic illness warriors have agency over their care, lead the conversation, drive innovation, and live without limits.Â
AMANDA
From forensics investigator to spoonie truth-seeker
Amanda spent years analyzing evidence in forensics before chronic illness became her biggest case to solve. Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Lupus, PCOS, Hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto’s taught her that the system wasn’t working, but watching her daughter face the same battles ignited her mission.
Now she channels decades of research skills and product testing expertise into something bigger because every spoonie deserves a fierce advocate who actually understands the fight.
“I’ve spent decades researching and testing what works for spoonies. Now I’m using that expertise to ensure we never have to settle for products that weren’t made with us in mind”Â
OUR VALUES
By, For, With Spoonies
Every tool, feature, product suggestion, and improvement is build with our community, no boardroom assumptions. A hive mind of spoonies shaping everything because lived experience is imporant.
Evidence-Based
No wellness fluff, no empty promises. Just rigorous analysis applied to solutions, everything gets the investigation treatment, because we know what it's like to waste money on products that don't deliver.
Fair Pricing Always
We're not here to profit off spoonie struggles; we use free or cost-plus pricing to pass every saving possible directly to you. We know money's already tight due to medical bills, medication, specialist fees etc.
Sustainable Impact
We're not here for quick fixes or charity handouts. Our business model funds long-term change. This allows us to ease individual struggles through our tools and also focus on systemic change.
MICHELLE
From caregiver to patient to changemaker
Michelle learned about chronic illness by watching her mum, her hero, fight impossible battles, then PCOS, Hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto’s taught her that watching the fight is nothing like being in it.
When 2023 delivered a near-fatal health breakdown, she realised every spoonie deserves a fierce advocate like she has, but not everyone has one. So she’s using 10 years of design, marketing, and tech experience to build what she wished existed: tools designed by someone who understands chronic illness.
“I spent years learning how to survive in a world that wasn’t built for me. Now I’m using everything I know to build something that is.”
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Ready to be part of something bigger? We’re building this movement one spoonie at a time, and we want you with us. Whether you’re looking for community, tools that actually help, or just want to connect with people who get it, there’s a place for you here.
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Use the Tools
Our tools are designed for spoonies, by using them your funding the movment and practising self care
Volunteer
Got skills? Energy? Passion for the cause? Help us build this movement by contributing your expertise and time