Equality, diversity and inclusion EDI

Information about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at WithYou.

Our EDI commitments

At WithYou, we celebrate and value differences. We take active steps to reduce inequities in the workplace and in the services we deliver.

No matter who you are, how you identify or your experiences - we want you to feel understood and included when you reach out to us for support, join our team or partner with us.

We want everyone to feel welcome, not judged

Our EDI commitments outline what our clients, staff and volunteers can expect from us. We want EDI to be a golden thread throughout our work and achieving this means ensuring that everyone across WithYou knows the role they play in creating a culture of equity and inclusion.

We want everyone to feel able to get support

No matter who you are, how you identify or your experiences - you should feel understood and included when you reach out for support. Everyone should feel that we are here for them, and that we have a way to support them. We will deliver services that are culturally informed and that take account of the whole of someone’s identity. We will engage with and work in collaboration with the diverse communities we serve.

We want our staff to feel included, empowered and represented

We want all staff and people applying for roles at WithYou to feel welcome, represented and to have a voice in our organisation. All staff should be able to bring their whole selves to work. That is why we have a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, victimisation and discrimination.

We’ll use our platform and insights to lead and support change

We’ll focus on where we know inequalities and barriers to accessing services continue to exist, talk about this as an organisation and amplify the voices of underrepresented and marginalised groups. We’ll publicly celebrate the diversity of the people accessing our services and take opportunities to promote diversity and inclusion across the alcohol, drugs and mental health sector.

Meet our Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Kate Ashfield-Fox

"I have the great privilege of leading on our EDI action plan. I’m based in our People & Inclusion Directorate but work across WithYou to embed principles of EDI across everything we do.

"No two days are the same. Sometimes it will be supporting a frontline Recovery Worker to explore how they can best meet the needs of a neurodiverse client, the next it will be creating a strategy for our annual gender pay gap report, or another day it will be delivering a webinar to staff and volunteers about how to challenge unconscious bias."

"We're at the early stages of our EDI journey, and it will be a continuous one. We know the importance of achieving our commitments and the impact that this work can have on our clients, staff, volunteers and the wider sector.”

There's more work to be done in our sector

We know that only a fraction of people who experience challenges with mental health, drugs or alcohol are in touch with support services.

Our research has shown the barriers that women face in accessing drug treatment and services.
In some areas, people from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are still under-represented in Talking Therapy services, and they can have poorer clinical outcomes.
Alcohol and drug use among LGBTQ+ groups is higher than the general population.
People with physical disabilities, such as reduced mobility or hearing or visual impairments, are 2 to 4 times more likely to experience challenges with drugs.
We also know the role that trauma plays in many people needing our services.

Understanding and addressing the relationship between marginalisation, discrimination and trauma is key to reducing stigma and empowering people to access the support they need.

This is why one of our strategic goals is to ‘reduce inequalities in treatment and recovery for marginalised people’. This goal in turn will enable us ‘to help many more people’ and ‘radically improve people’s chances of getting better’.