A free, community-led directory of accessible everyday services for hairdressers, barbers, restaurants, transport, cleaners, PAs and more starting in Essex and growing.
Here’s why “everyday” matters. A taxi to a hair appointment can cost a disabled person £200 before they’ve sat in the chair. For many people, a home visit isn’t convenient it’s the only option. Big platforms cover big venues and big events. Nobody covers the Tuesday-afternoon, round-the-corner, daily life services and daily life is where independence actually lives.
Every listing answers the practical questions our community actually asks: step-free access, accessible toilets, parking, whether staff will give extra time, quieter hours. Every listing is verified through direct contact before it goes live. Every review comes from someone with real experience.
One platform. Three purposes. One community at the centre.
Twenty years ago I started as a healthcare assistant in UK social care. I didn’t know then how much it would change me.
I’ve sat with people in their hardest moments. I’ve watched families search desperately for the right support and come up empty. I’ve seen what happens when someone ends up with the wrong service and not because they made a bad choice, but because the information they needed simply wasn’t there.
Then one day my daughter asked me why I wanted to retire in Africa. My honest answer was this: I’ve spent two decades in social care. I’ve seen what poor care looks like up close. And I don’t want to receive it.
That answer stopped me. If I feel that way because with twenty years of knowing which questions to ask and which services to trust then what about the families with none of that? What about the person searching at midnight for home care they have no way to assess? The wheelchair user who found out the “accessible” venue wasn’t, at the door?
They’re not failing to navigate the system. The system was never built to be navigated.
So I built the thing I kept wishing existed for every family I’ve ever worked alongside. A place where the community speaks honestly, where dignity isn’t negotiable, and where finding the right support doesn’t feel like luck.
This is still a calling. It just looks different now.
Esther Alaja, Founder
Honest information over perfect impressions. A business that says “one step at the door, but we keep a ramp” helps you more than one that says nothing. We’d rather tell you the truth than sell you a listing.
With, not for. Disabled people rate the services. We don’t speak over the community but we make sure it gets heard.
The same standard for everyone. We hold providers, the system, and ourselves to it equally. This is reform through honest observation, not blame.
Free means free. Disabled people and families will never pay to use AccessSphere. Not now, not ever.
Disabled adults looking for services that work for them. Families and carers doing the searching. Providers committed to genuine accessibility not just a ramp and a checkbox. And commissioners and councils who need a ground-level view of what accessible provision really looks like.
For our community
What is AccessSphere?
A free directory of accessible everyday services by hairdressers, barbers, restaurants, transport, cleaners, PAs that’s built from honest information, so you know before you go, not after.
Is it really free?
For you, yes. Always. Disabled people and families will never pay to use AccessSphere. That’s not a launch offer, it’s the point.
How do you verify listings?
I contact every business directly and ask the practical questions that matter: step-free access, accessible toilets, parking, whether staff will give extra time, quieter hours. What they tell me goes on the listing. What the community experiences keeps it honest and if a listing doesn’t match reality, tell us and we’ll look into it.
A business let me down even though it was listed. What do I do?
Tell me. Honestly, this is the most important thing you can do on this site. Listings are only as good as the last person’s experience, and your report protects the next person. No listing is protected from the truth including the ones I verified myself.
Why is the directory small right now?
Because we’re new, and because I verify listings personally rather than copying them from the internet. A short list you can trust beats a long one you can’t. It grows every week and if you know a business that should be on it, tell me.
Who’s behind this?
I’m Esther. I spent 20 years in UK social care , i started as an healthcare assistant and I built AccessSphere because I kept watching people lose independence over information that should have been easy to find. AccessSphere is a Community Interest Company and not-for-profit, regulated, with no shareholders to please.
For businesses and service providers
What does a listing cost?
Nothing. Free listings are free forever that’s a promise, not a trial. Down the line we may offer optional extras like featured placement, but a standard listing will never cost you anything.
What’s the catch?
Fair question nothing’s usually free. AccessSphere is a not-for-profit built to solve one problem: disabled people can’t find out if a business suits them until they arrive. You solve it by answering ten minutes of honest questions. That’s the whole deal.
We’re not fully accessible. Can we still be listed?
Yes and this is the bit most businesses get wrong. You don’t need to be perfect. “We have one step, but we keep a ramp and we’re happy to help” is genuinely valuable information. What our community can’t work with is silence. Honesty about what you offer puts you ahead of most of your competitors already.
What do I get out of it?
Customers who are actively looking for you. Disabled households in the UK spend an estimated £274 billion a year, and most of it goes to businesses that simply say, clearly, what to expect. You also get loyalty when a disabled customer finds a business that works for them, they come back, and they tell people.
Is this an inspection? Will you report us?
No. I’m not an inspector and this isn’t enforcement. I ask what you offer, and we tell people honestly. If the conversation prompts you to improve something that’s brilliant, and it often does but that’s your choice, not a demand.
How do I get listed?
Email [address] or fill in the form below, and I’ll be in touch. Ten minutes of questions, and you’re in front of a community that’s looking for you.
AccessSphere CIC is a Community Interest Company, incorporated January 2026. If you’re looking for evidence of community need, ground-level accessibility data, or a partner in improving local provision, we’d like to talk.