About Us
Creating communities that celebrate difference
ARC NI is part of the Association for Real Change (ARC), a national charity founded in 1976.
ARC works in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
We want to help communities to respect, listen to and include people with a learning disability, autism and other support needs and their families.
To make this happen, we work alongside people and organisations throughout the United Kingdom that share our vision.
We make real change happen through
- research
- networking
- collective advocacy
- policy
- and training.
This is our overarching strategy.
Our Aims
Knowledge and Rights
- Experts by Experience know what they are allowed to do and how they should be treated. This is called their rights.
- People and organisations know about rights and support people to stand up for them.
Choice and Control
- Experts by Experience are involved in changing services.
- People and organisations plan and give services that let people live the lives they want.
Inclusion and Equality
- Experts by Experience challenge and change how people in their communities think, feel and act.
- People and organisations actively help individuals to take part in their communities.
Our Impact
ARC Northern Ireland delivers the ARC strategy in the context of our country’s health and social care landscape.
Our work focuses on 6 key areas of community support. For each area we have a number of core goals that we want your help to advocate for and work towards.
We write a yearly Impact Report so you can see the difference our work makes. It helps us to celebrate successes and focus on priorities for the coming year.