OUR COMMITMENTS
What we stand for, and why it matters
Good services aren’t built on accreditations alone. They’re built on the values that shape every decision, every conversation, and every relationship. These are the commitments that guide our work.
Values in action, not on paper
Many charities talk about values. At Ara, ours are shaped by the people we work alongside — staff who bring lived experience, clients who tell us honestly what’s working, and partners who hold us to a higher bar. The commitments below aren’t slogans. They’re the reasons we do this work the way we do it.
Lived Experience Statement
Ara was founded in 1987 by people with their own experience of addiction, mental health challenges, and homelessness. Nearly four decades on, around 30% of our staff still share that lived experience — and it shapes how we listen, how we work, and who we are. Lived experience isn’t a box we tick. It’s the reason our services feel different.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy
Many of the people we support have experienced discrimination, disadvantage, or stigma long before they ever came to Ara. Our EDI Strategy commits us to making our workplace and our services genuinely responsive to community and individual needs — not just accessible, but actively inclusive. We’re a Bristol Equality Charter signatory, Disability Confident Committed, and a Bronze member of enei TIDE, the national inclusion benchmark.
Quality Policy
Since 1987, Ara has provided reliable, high-quality support across housing, gambling harms treatment, and resettlement. Our Quality Policy sets out how we meet recognised industry standards and how we keep raising the bar — through annual client surveys, staff feedback, independent audits, and the evidence gathered in our Impact Reports. We don’t assume we’re getting it right. We ask, we measure, and we change.
A lighter footprint, a stronger community
Recovery work is community work, and communities are rooted in place. We’re committed to sustainable practices across our offices and our housing portfolio — reducing waste, managing energy responsibly, and making environmentally conscious decisions in how we operate. As we expand our supported housing provision, sustainability is built into how we plan, build, and maintain our services for the long term.