Welcome to our Annual Impact Report.  For all charitable organisations this has been a tumultuous 12 months.  COVID-19 has had an impact on all our lives and especially on the lives of those that come into contact with Ara and its range of supporting services.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients and wonderful staff for their ability to adapt and conquer the challenges we have faced.

Throughout the year Ara has continued to deliver its services to an increasing number of clients.  We have directly supported over 6,000 vulnerable people in all of our sectors including alcohol and substance misuse, gambling addition, homelessness, criminal justice and mental health.

Our Gambling Treatment services have grown and our outcomes show that over 90% of the people supported have experienced a positive change in their lives.  Working very closely with PG Solutions, we have has developed the ‘Don’t bet your life on it’ gambling information and support toolkit.  This is the first digital safer gambling toolkit developed for users, by users.  The impact our services are making in the treatment of Gambling harms in significant and next year we are planning to widen the range of these services to include others affected by a family members gambling.

This year Ara’s executive team led by Graham England (CEO) and supported by Andrew Ridley (CFO) and Robbie Thornhill (COO) have focused on our client experiences.  The Impact Report highlights many of these experiences.  The overall quality of services is extremely good and I would like to credit our managers and staff for their achievements and contributions.  We have been innovative, effective and above all caring.

Our Criminal Justice housing programme demonstrates our desire to work with vulnerable people and bring about change in their lives.  Ara is committed to helping change the desperate cycle of addiction, homelessness and recidivism.  We are currently building new programmes that will focus on confidence building, education and employment.

COVID-19 has been a challenge but Ara has continued to meet its obligations throughout the crisis.  We have provided our housing clients with personal computers and smart phones to allow them to access necessary services.  We have looked for innovative solutions to enable everything to continue in a safe and effective environment.

I hope you enjoy reading this impact report and get a feeling for the passion and commitment within this Charity. For real time updates and stories about our work, why not follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Tony Collins

Chair of Trustees