GlobalARRK

Who we are

“Super kind, super connected, super knowledgeable - a learning, striving organisation with people in mind and heart.” (feedback)

GlobalARRK is the only charity dedicated to supporting Stuck Parents – 98% are single mothers unable to legally return to live in their home country with their children after a relationship breakdown. 95% are survivors of domestic abuse who find themselves displaced, struggling to survive, and trapped by international law. Without us, there is no specialist support available. Our small but dedicated team of 12 volunteers, 5 Trustees and 3 part-time staff, provides lifeline services free of charge, 

Our culture and values

The majority of our staff team have lived experience of being a stuck parent; as do our 13 volunteers. Our Trustee board has a mixture of those with lived experience, ex service users and professionals with expertise in research; strategic planning; mental health; international family law. Our parents steer the charity through conversations; meetings; feedback forms and the Lived Experience group. 

Over the last decade we have built up a deep knowledge of the law and systems which governs families trapped in this situation. We regularly contribute to national and international debate; speak at international family law conferences and write articles and appear in podcasts. We sit on the 'expert' panel at the Westminster Law School child abduction group and the steering committee of the Forums on Domestic Abuse and the Hague Convention. 

Mission: To prevent international custody disputes and reduce their devastating impact on children and parents stuck in a foreign country by raising awareness and connecting parents to support services to meet their needs. 

Vision: A world where few families go through international custody crisis but when it does happen the family have all the support they need 

Values: We work with Compassion, Courage and Persistence to reach our mission!

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

GlobalARRK has set out its commitment as an organisation in an Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy. We are committed to EEDI as part of our core principles as we believe that in order to solve this problem we need everyone’s input which means making it easy for people to get involved. 

GlobalARRK is a charity for international parents, from anywhere in the world, of any religion or background. We celebrate everyone’s different ‘holidays’ and learn from each other about different customs and cultures. We have learned to be careful with our language recognizing that words can be powerful and culturally sensitive and people can accidentally get the wrong message. Our Trustees, staff and volunteers are a mixture of nationalities and cultures, many with lived experience of being ‘stuck’ . We speak many languages. 

We are mindful to make our services accessible to all, especially those who struggle to access services because they have a disability, which is why most of our ‘events’ e.g. groups, workshops, information sessions are online and for free. We consider when people are available to attend and alternate times, running many events in the evening when our single mothers, which make up most of our beneficiaries, are able to attend after putting children to bed. 

We probably take a wider view of EEDI than many other organisations as we know through lived experience how multiple disadvantage can feel – if you are a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language well, you don’t know the systems and you have no social links and on top of that you are a disabled woman who has experienced domestic abuse it is extremely hard to access support. We try to make it as easy and inclusive as possible, giving people choices about how they would like to be supported, asking if they need anything in order to be supported, eg a translator or a friend to support them and when is convenient for them. Whether they’d like a phone call or messaging or email. We work in a trauma informed way, giving people choice every step of the way. 

GlobalARRK believes that understanding and responding effectively to intersectional issues facing our clients, around race, religion, disability, learning difference, culture and socioeconomic class, etc. is key to providing our beneficiaries with a positive and empowering form of support.