Change Grow Live

Who we are

Becoming Change Grow Live

In 2012 we merged with Sova, another charity working to help people change their lives and fulfil their potential.

Around the same time, we also noticed another change in our service users. We saw that more and more of the people we were supporting hadn’t committed a crime. Our name - Crime Reduction Initiative - was a barrier, because they felt like our services weren’t for them.

So in 2016 we changed our name again, to Change Grow Live. We took the name from the phases of our recovery programme: foundations of change, foundations of growth, foundations of life. It showed how we worked and helped tackle the stigma around seeking help.

2017 was also a year of change and growth for us. A charity called Lifeline was in crisis, and the vital services it ran were at risk of closing. We stepped in and took over some of those services to keep them running for their users.

The future

Since we first started, one goal has driven everything we do: to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s still what drives us now. We know that what we do works, so we want as many people as possible to benefit. That’s how we’ll make our vision - to change society for the better - a reality.

Our culture and values

Our values work together, as principles that guide the way we act and the choices we make. 

Be open, be compassionate, be bold.

Make a difference

We exist to help people achieve their goals, to be the best that they can be and to help change society for the better. This is true whether we are talking about the people who use our services, our staff or our volunteers.

We are not in control of everything that impacts upon the people who use our services. However, we are in control of what we do, how we behave and where we focus our expertise, resources and energy.

Our aim is to work together to challenge stigma and oppression. We want our charity to be a place where our staff and people who use our services are respected and engaged. Ultimately we want to make life safer, easier and better for as many people as we can. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We are committed to becoming one of the leading organisations in our field for diversity and inclusion.  

We will continue to explore new ways to improve the accessibility of our services, recruit a representative workforce and enrich our culture with diversity of thought, background and experience.  

The people who use our services come from a wide range of backgrounds, and so do our colleagues. We aim to celebrate diversity in our workplace to create an inclusive culture by offering dedicated time and space for people to connect. 

An inclusive approach to careers  

We believe that having diverse people working as part of our team makes us the organisation that we are. We are registered as a disability confident and age friendly employer. We welcome applications from everyone. We positively welcome applications from people who are from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ and those with disabilities. Even if you don’t think you meet 100% of the person specification, we still encourage you to apply.  

We actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds to help us to provide the best possible experience for the people who use our services and to make Change Grow Live a great place to work.  

If you have any feedback on our recruitment processes (good or bad) we’d love to hear from you so that we can make sure they are fair and we attract and recruit the best, most diverse workforce possible.

Supporting our staff and volunteers  

We have expanded our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team to ensure that there is a greater EDI focus across our strategic priorities, projects and workstreams.  

Our National Inclusion team are always on hand for support and advice. We also have a variety of forums where colleagues in any role across Change Grow Live can come together to discuss accessibility, diversity, equality and many more topics. 

These include our: 

• Accessibility forum 
• LGBTQ+ forum 
• Trans and non-binary forum 
• Veteran support working group 
• Menopause Group 
• Inclusion Champions Network Forum  
• Black Workers Action Group 
• Embrace Forum 

To build on progression and diversity in senior leadership, management and central roles we have informally tested reciprocal mentoring. Reciprocal mentoring is a programme that partners staff from under-represented communities with senior members of staff. 

Mentors will be equal partners, each taking on the role of both Mentor and Mentee. They will have an opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills, and networks through the mentorship of their partner. 

Reciprocal mentoring aims to enable individual as well as systemic transformation. It can help to create a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion, where our differences are respected and valued, our biases are challenged, and systemic barriers are dismantled.