As 2023 comes to a close and Covid-19 indicators rise, New Year’s Eve parties may lead to a few sniffles for some, but for others, crowded rooms filled with germs are simply not an option.
This is the case for 48-year-old Amy Noyes, who describes herself as a late-diagnosed autistic person and is a patient and part of the community advisory board at All Brains Belong, a two-year-old nonprofit community health organization in Montpelier.
“I think that crowded indoor spaces on a New Year’s Eve event would be completely overwhelming to somebody like me,” Noyes said.
To provide an alternative space for people to celebrate, All Brains Belongs plans to host its second annual online New Year’s Eve celebration.
“A lot of people maybe aren’t comfortable going to a large, indoor, crowded, New Year’s Eve party, and so we wanted to offer something different so that people could connect with one another and have a fun and safe way to… ring in the new year,” said Sara Wilkins, the organization’s community program coordinator.
As Covid-19 restrictions have waned, many virtual options have disappeared, leading to fewer spaces for those who need to be careful with whom they interact. Before the nonprofit’s virtual events, Noyes described her New Year’s Eves as really quiet, spending it alone with her husband in their home in the woods.
“Prior to All Brains, I was a very isolated person with not very many friends,” Noyes said. “I’ve been a part of All Brains Belong for two years, and it’s been really, not only medically, but socially … such a game changer for me in terms of feeling like I have a real sense of community and a place to belong.”
All Brains Belong’s mission is to provide support to neurodivergent individuals, like Noyes, who might be struggling socially and have to be more careful about catching diseases.
“The neurodivergent population is more likely to experience long Covid or long Covid-like symptoms, and so there’s a lot of people who in our community are still being quite cautious around Covid. It’s still a factor,” Wilkins said. “When people are connected with each other and less isolated and in community with one another, that’s the fast track to health in all respects.”
Last year, about 100 people attended the first virtual celebration hosted by All Brains Belong.
“We have folks that come to our community programs from all over the country, so the nice thing about this being a Virtual New Year’s Eve celebration is that anybody can come from anywhere to celebrate with us,” Wilkins said.
The celebration is open to the public. Participants can join break-out rooms with different events or performances, such as arts and crafts, a children’s YouTuber from the channel Poppies Planet, live music by Todd Gevry, or a reading by poet Rajinii Eddins.
Despite its name, the celebrations will not count down to 2024, but will instead take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. According to Wilkins, that is in part because All Brains Belong wanted to ensure that families with small children could attend the event as well.
“I think it just creates a really safe environment, and everybody gets to be themselves and however they feel most comfortable to participate,” Noyes said.
