Case studies
We are delighted to support Become the Bridge. Become the Bridge is everything we stand for as an organisation and we are delighted to be a part of this important movement.
Community Foundation North East’s mission is to build a thriving, generous and inclusive region today and for generations to come by inspiring philanthropy, investing in communities and influencing change.
We believe that being held back or treated differently because of who you are or where you’re from isn’t acceptable. But we know from our funding and research that some people and communities in our area continue to face inequity and injustice. And, like many others, we have been shocked by incidents of violence and hate targeted at people because of their perceived race, ethnic background or religious identity.
Through the generosity of our donors we support hundreds of small, local charities and community organisations who are dedicated to building connections between people, belonging in communities and positive futures for all. We see anti-racism as vital because their work – and ours – is driven by compassion and a love of our people and places, not by seeding division.
Become the Bridge recognises that now it is more important than ever to bring people and organisations together – even where we may sometimes disagree – in respectful dialogue and shared learning.
If together we succeed in challenging racism, we’ll have a fairer, stronger North East with greater opportunities for everyone.
We are joining Become the Bridge because we want to learn, reflect, and grow alongside others. We want to be an organisation that not only talks about anti-racism but demonstrates it through our actions, culture, and commitment to improvement.
Anti-racism matters to ARCH. We support survivors of sexual violence from every background, and we know that racism can make it harder for some people to feel safe, heard, and able to reach out for help. We provide accessible, trauma-informed support to anyone affected by sexual violence in Teesside and from our frontline work, we see that racism can add an extra layer of trauma and influence how people are treated when they seek support.
Every survivor must be treated with dignity, understanding and respect.
Being anti-racist requires us to be proactive in recognising how racism shows up, including within our own systems and behaviours, and to take deliberate action to address it. Anti-racist practice helps us build trust, reduce barriers, and make sure our support reflects the diverse needs of the people we serve. It also helps us create a workplace where staff feel valued and confident to explore their own learning.
We hope the Become the Bridge campaign will create space for honest conversations and a safe space for shared learning. We will value the campaign’s supportive community and structure that will help us stay accountable.
We would encourage other organisations to join because meaningful change happens when we work together. Anti-racism is everyone’s responsibility and meaningful change requires commitment and action. By sharing our learning, challenges, and progress, we can build a fairer, stronger Northeast for everyone.
We are proud to join Become the Bridge. Change depends on organisations taking joint responsibility and accountability to one another and to the communities they work with: standing together, acting consistently and being prepared to challenge themselves as well as others. That is why signing this pledge matters.
We see and feel racism every day. We see it in how people are spoken to, the assumptions made about them and the barriers placed in their way. It is embedded in systems – in housing, access to services and the workplace – and in the hostility on our streets that has become normalised.
Public debate about immigration has too often been used to justify, excuse, and normalise racism and hostility towards people seeking asylum and refugees. Language that once would have been challenged is now repeated, defended and even glorified – dressed up as bravery, while fear and hate are presented as “truth”. This rhetoric is used to divide society, leaving us weaker, less connected and easier to manipulate.
We believe strongly that racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia are bigger than any single organisation. From our work, we know racism is systemic and cultural and no one organisation can address it alone.
We encourage other organisations to join the Become the Bridge community of change to challenge racism together for a fairer, stronger North East.
A fairer, stronger region needs shared learning, transparency, and sustained commitment over time. That’s why we are proud to join Become the Bridge. We hope the Become the Bridge campaign will create a collective shift across the North East moving organisations from awareness to accountability
At Castle Peak Group, anti-racism is not a statement of intent; it is a professional obligation.
As an executive search and leadership advisory firm working across the North East and beyond, we sit at the point where power, influence and decision-making are shaped. It matters who gets appointed to boards and executive teams. It determines which voices are heard, which communities are understood, and how institutions serve the people who rely on them.
Anti-racism matters to our organisation because leadership systems have historically under-represented racialised talent. Left unchallenged, those patterns replicate themselves through informal networks, unconscious biasand risk-averse hiring. We believe executive search must be an intervention, not a bystander in addressing that imbalance.
Our mission is values-driven excellence and repeatable trust. Being explicitly anti-racist strengthens that mission. It sharpens how we map markets, assess potential, and advise boards on inclusive governance. It requires us to move beyond passive diversity statements toward structured, measurable action. Over the past two years, more than 60% of our placements have been from under-represented backgrounds as a by-product of rigorous, intentional search practice.
We are part of Become the Bridge because leadership credibility requires participation and public commitment. We welcome the opportunity to develop and share our anti-racism action plan over the next 12 months and to learn alongside other organisations on the same journey.
We must all move together on this. We commit to challenging racism together for a fairer, stronger North East. We urge others to commit too.
We are signing up to Become the Bridge to find help and support with practical steps we can take in our organisation to embed anti-racism. Work like this can feel ‘too big’, so by sharing our first steps with others committed to the same goal, we can help break it down and become achievable.
As part of a sector concerned with social justice, anti-racism is a foundation for change. With increased far-right racism and hatred it’s vital that charities hold themselves to account for becoming, not just ‘not racist’, but anti-racist. Through this, we can share power, control, and influence, and ensure the organisations who walk alongside people at times of distress and vulnerability, are fully aware of their own power and privilege, and how these are upheld through policies and procedures, culture, and values.
Eating Distress North East exists because every individual affected by eating distress deserves specialist support, hope, and to know that recovery is possible. Embedding anti-racist practice across our organisation ensures that when anyone from any community need our support, we’re able to respond appropriately and effectively.
We recognise that people from black and racially marginalised communities are more likely to experience trauma because of systems of oppression and less likely to receive the support they need and deserve.
Anti-racism is an important aspect of trauma informed practice and we’re on a continuous journey of improvement.
We hope that Become the Bridge will bring about a partnership of organisations willing to be open, vulnerable, and committed to change – sharing learning and (un)learning generously.
North Star is proud to be one of the first organisations to join Become the Bridge and a member of the North East Anti Racism Coalition.
This is important to us. It sets out who we are and what we stand for.
We want Become the Bridge to become a catalyst for change. It can help to strengthen the reasons why the North East is such a great place to live and work in.
North Star has a proud, inclusive history across the last 52 years and our ambitions to be a fair and inclusive landlord and employer go beyond complying with regulation and legislation. We have a rich history of working with Diversity and it has never been more important for organisations to have a focus on anti-racism.
We are a values-based organisation with social purpose at our heart. Our mission is to create homes and build futures for everyone in society. We are a social purpose organisation.
By signing the Become the Bridge pledge, we are aligning the work begun within North Star to that of the coalition – committing to action, accountability, and continuous improvement.
We would encourage others to sign up – it would be great for the North East to be a leader in anti-racism and that can only be achieved by us all working together on this challenge.
As early supporters and funders of the North East Anti-Racism Coalition, we are joining Become the Bridge this work because we believe our region can lead with hope.
If we truly want resilient, prosperous communities, we must stand together. We must be bold enough to challenge injustice. And we must be determined enough to keep going. Because while this work is not going to be easy, it is necessary.
Racism harms people. It damages wellbeing. It affects health outcomes. It limits confidence, income and opportunity and drives poverty. It isolates people from services that should be there for them.
At Point North, we believe everyone deserves dignity and respect. Our mission is to create a better today and a brighter tomorrow for our communities across County Durham, Tees Valley and the wider North East. Being anti-racist is central to creating communities that are resilient and prosperous. It means we challenge discrimination and systems that exclude. We listen to lived experience, even when it makes us uncomfortable.
When people face prejudice in schools, workplaces or public services, the harm does not end in that moment. People lose confidence. Their trust in services and institutes erodes, and poverty deepens.
So, we embed equity into how we work. We promote fairness and inclusion in everything we do. We design our services to reflect our communities. The North East is a proud, creative and resilientregion. But we cannot ignore the divide in our communities, born from fear and racism and expect things to change.
We want this campaign to spark brave conversations in workplaces, community halls, leadership teams and around kitchen tables.
We hope this campaign builds collective energy and unity and turns it into action.
For us, committing means listening, reflecting and changing practice where needed. It means challenging bias, including our own. But it also means hope. Hope that together, we can build communities that are truly inclusive.
Joining Become the Bridge matters deeply to Recovery Connections because it reflects who we are and what we stand for as a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO).
We believe everyone deserves dignity, safety and fair access to support. Recovery cannot flourish where people face discrimination, exclusion or systemic disadvantage. We know that racism, whether structural, institutional or interpersonal, has a profound and lasting impact on people’s wellbeing, their confidence in services, and their journey of recovery. If we are serious about equity in recovery, we must be serious about anti-racism.
As a LERO, lived experience guides everything we do. That means listening to and learning from people whose experiences of racism have shaped their mental health, their opportunities, and often their trust in organisations like ours. These experiences are not separate from recovery; they are central to it. By being part of the coalition, we are committing to ensuring those realities inform how we design services, how we engage with communities, and how we advocate for change.
Membership is also about growth and accountability. The coalition provides a space where organisations can reflect honestly, have courageous conversations, and challenge themselves to do better. Anti-racist practice is not a one-off commitment; it is ongoing work. Standing alongside others who share this commitment strengthens our culture and equips our staff, volunteers and community members to provide peer support that is inclusive, culturally responsive and grounded in respect.
Importantly, this is about leadership as well as learning. As a LERO, we aim to model values driven practice. Anti-racism is not an optional extra, it is essential to delivering compassionate, effective and equitable recovery support.
By taking a clear and public stand, we reinforce our purpose: removing barriers, amplifying lived experience, and helping build a region where everyone can recover and belong.
We signed up to the Become the Bridge campaign because it mirrors our values and our mission. Joining the campaign holds us accountable to continuous learning, challenges us to keep improving, and affirms that anti‑racism must be an active, evolving practice.
Anti‑racism matters to Represent Women because our it aligns with our vision of a women’s sector that is thriving and not just surviving, operating within regional policy that truly works for and prioritises women and girls. Achieving that vision requires a sector free from the racial inequalities that disproportionately harm Black, Asian, minoritised, and migrant women.
Our values – collaborative, courageous, considerate, and committed – ground us in the responsibility to name and challenge racial oppression. As a feminist, anti‑racist, anti‑oppressive and intersectional, evidence‑led organisation, we know that gender inequality is inseparable from racial inequality. Anti‑racism is essential to building a sector where every woman and girl can thrive. Our mission is to strengthen and support the women and girls VCSE sector so that organisations are better connected, more effective, and more inclusive.
Being actively anti‑racist reinforces this mission because it:
- Ensures our support reflects the lived experiences of all women and girls, particularly those most affected by overlapping inequalities.
- Embraces continuous learning, acknowledging that anti‑racism is not a destination but an ongoing practice of reflection, adaptation and accountability.
We hope the Become the Bridge campaign will create lasting, sector‑wide change by fostering:
- Collective learning
- Stronger collaboration
- A braver, more representative VCSE ecosystem
- Practical, meaningful action, moving beyond statements and into long-term structural change.
We encourage you to join us and Become the Bridge – working together towards dismantling structural racism. Meaningful progress requires shared commitment, collective responsibility, and a willingness to learn from each other.
Society Matters Group is proud to join Become the Bridge , strengthening our commitment to being an actively anti-racist organisation.
Racism, whether individual, cultural or systemic, creates barriers that prevent people from accessing opportunity, safety and voice. As an organisation working to empower people and communities, we have a responsibility not only to challenge inequality when we see it, but to address the systems that allow it to persist.
Being anti-racist directly supports our mission to build a knowledge democracy where people are empowered to make informed decisions that improve lives. Racism distorts systems, silences voices and reinforces disadvantage.
Become the Bridge provides a space for reflection, learning and action to find solutions. We hope it will help us deepen our understanding of how racism shows up in our policies, behaviours and decision-making, and support us to make meaningful, lasting change. This approach aligns with our belief in innovation and impact, recognising that knowledge is a tool everyone should be able to use.
We know that values only matter when they are lived. Becoming anti-racist requires honesty, accountability and a willingness to listen, learn and be challenged. Become the Bridge offers a safe non-judgemental space to share experiences and to help us do this work thoughtfully and collectively, rather than treating it as a one-off commitment.
We would encourage other organisations to join the campaign because systemic change cannot happen in isolation. When organisations commit together, we strengthen social cohesion, challenge injusticeand create fairer systems.
By becoming the bridge, we can help build workplaces, services and communities where dignity, equity and opportunity are genuinely shared by all and that’s really important to us.
Being part of Become the Bridge allows us to tackle societal issues collectively. We can learn from best practice of other organisations committed to anti-racism whilst being a part of a unified movement working together for positive change. We can only improve the lives of our patients and staff by working together as we tackle anti-racism and anti-discrimination for the benefit of all.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) is committed to anti-racism. Racism; whether structural, interpersonal, or institutional; creates barriers to equitable access, experiences, and outcomes. It directly affects the quality of care we provide, the wellbeing of our workforce and the trust our communities place in us as an anchor institution. We are developing an STSFT culture and climate framework that will support us in the way we work to ensure that we are an anti-discriminatory organisation.
We have an increasingly diverse workforce, with 20% of our staff from a global majority background, a figure which has increased year on year over the last 5 years and doubled since 2020. Data from our internal workforce systems and participation in the national staff survey demonstrates that despite past efforts, staff experience is still not equitable in the NHS.
As an NHS Foundation Trust, we have a responsibility to eliminate these barriers so that every patient and colleague is treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. We know that racism has a profound impact on health outcomes and is a clear cause of health inequalities within the Northeast and our anti-racism pledge is one of our commitments to working preventatively to address these inequalities. We are committed to ensuring we are compassionate, inclusive and an action focused Trust. Our organisational values – compassion, teamwork, honesty and respect – support us to achieve our anti-racist ambitions.
In 2024, Sunderland experienced significant racially charged unrest, forming part of the wider UK riots. These events were traumatic to our people who were attacked and has heightened anxiety. During this period of unrest and since there has been misinformation, racial hatred and anti‑immigrant rhetoric that anchor organisations have been trying to tackle. Research has shown that the social unrest is increasingly linked to feelings of social disconnection, deprivation, and weakened community cohesion. Approximately 80% of our workforce live locally and we know that when racism escalates in the community, it can manifest itself into workplaces as increased bullying, harassment or microaggressions at work, polarisation within teams and reduced psychological safety for staff.
We’d encourage any North East organisation to join us in committing to the campaign, the more that join, the wider our impact will be. The North East Anti-Racism Coalition is creating a supportive and strong force for change capable of creating a real difference.
VONNE is proud to be an early adopter of Become the Bridge, an initiative that we hope will foster unity, community and strengthen collective action across the North East.
As a membership organisation, VONNE’s mission is to support, advocate and strengthen the North East Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. We do this by listening to every voice and being supportive of all. Since the summer riots in 2024, so many of our members have told us they’ve faced racism and aggression directly or are supporting a growing number of people who have.
We need to hold the line for strong, inclusive communities across the North East where everyone feels welcome. We can’t do this without being fundamentally anti-racist, while amplifying anti-racist voices.
VONNE is opposed to discrimination and systemic racism, and we strive to support equality, diversity and inclusion within our work and for our sector. We would encourage other organisations to sign up because our region’s rich diversity and diverse history are one of its greatest strengths. This is what makes the North East a beautiful place and will help our communities to be resilient and thrive. Committing to this campaign strengthens accountability, allows sharing of good practice, and helps address systemic issues that we can’t change or face alone.
Bringing organisations together in this shared mission will also help to create a supportive network, that is much needed today. Become the Bridge may also help to drive cultural change and embed positive behaviours into everyday life and organisation operations. Wwe are here to listen and to learn; to support, and to build spaces where everyone belongs.
By joining Become the Bridge, we can hold fast to the vision of a positive, welcoming North East that works for all.
We are honoured to commit to the Become the Bridge campaign. We recognise we are at the beginning of this journey. We will not always get everything right, and we are expecting to ask difficult questions of ourselves. Our commitment is to ensure we create space to learn openly, act intentionally and share our progress honestly.
WWIN Specialist Domestic Abuse Service has an ambitious mission: to drive lasting change across Sunderland communities so that domestic abuse becomes a thing of the past. Anti-racism matters to us because we cannot end domestic abuse without addressing the systemic inequities and discrimination that shape women’s lives.
We are a proud feminist organisation with a long-standing legacy rooted in understanding the gendered nature of violence against women and girls. We also recognise that domestic abuse can happen to anyone, and that women from the global South often face additional layers of oppression, racism and structural barriers when seeking support. This reality was brought into sharp focus by the experiences of women we continue to support who were impacted by the racist and Islamophobic riots in Sunderland in 2024.
Over the past 18 months, WWIN has established an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion working group, guided by our commitment to tackling systemic injustice. A key priority is deepening our understanding of what it truly means to be anti-racist in practice. We have built new partnerships with Black-led women’s organisations in the city, working alongside pioneering women who are helping us break down barriers and become genuinely accessible, inclusive and trusted.
Our goal is clear: that all women, regardless of race or ethnicity, have access to specialist domestic abuse support which meets their distinct needs.
By joining Become the Bridge, we hope to contribute to building a visibly anti-racist North East — and we encourage other organisations to stand with us in making that commitment.
Anti-racism must matter to us all.
At Rainbow Home, we are passionate about equality and justice; it is fundamental to our work. We work solely with people seeking sanctuary who are LGBTQ+, all of whom have faced discrimination and persecution based on who they are. The UK is currently a hostile environment, never more so due to the rising racism and anti-migrant rhetoric we all witness on a daily basis. We must all work together to challenge racism.
Our members, experience racism in all aspects of their lives in the UK, from the communities where they are housed to structural racism within the systems they need to navigate once they arrive here. Those we support, like others seeking sanctuary, are blamed for the challenges the country is facing.
Our aim at Rainbow Home walk the journey with those we support. Our hope is for a fair and just, non-racist society. Our purpose is to improve the lives of people seeking sanctuary and an anti-racist society and system would make a significant impact to their experiences.
Our purpose is to improve the lives of our members, to support them in achieving justice so they can live safe and fulfilled lives. Due to rising racism and anti-migrant hostility across society, this is becoming increasingly challenging. One of our charity’s strategic aims is to “Campaign for Change” and we want to collaborate. There is power in togetherness and solidarity.
Become the Bridge will connect us and provide opportunities to collaborate and challenge racism where we see it. We are stronger together, and Become the Bridge will enable us to learn from each other and gain momentum. Joining Become the Bridge aligns with all our strategic aims, including improving the lives of those we support and building meaningful networks. Rainbow Home are proud to be an early adopter and commit to continuing to challenge racism in all its forms.
We will actively encourage others to join and support this vital movement across the North East.
At Seaton Park Medical Group, we are committed to creating an environment where every patient and member of staff feel safe, respected, and valued. As our community continues to grow and diversify, we recognise the importance of actively addressing racial inequality within healthcare. This is why we have chosen to join Becoming the Bridge as one of the first partners.
Our practice serves a community that is becoming increasingly diverse, with patients bringing a wide range of cultural backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences. Similarly, our staff team reflects this diversity, contributing valuable insight, strength, and perspective to the care we provide.
We also understand that racism; whether structural, interpersonal, or unconscious; can shape people’s experiences of healthcare and influence health outcomes. Addressing this is not optional; it is essential to delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care.
Our values shape the care we deliver every day:
Working in partnership – Anti‑racism helps us listen more carefully and respond more effectively to the needs of all our patients.
Providing quality care – Care cannot be high‑quality if it is not equitable.
Innovating and improving – Committing to anti‑racism encourages us to keep learning and adapting.
Fairness and equity – Recognising and addressing racism strengthens our commitment to fairness in every aspect of our work.
Recognising individual worth – Every person who walks through our doors deserves dignity and respect.
Being a supportive team – Staff wellbeing and belonging are essential to safe, compassionate care.
Being part of Become the Bridge helps keep us accountable, encourages us to challenge ourselves, and provides practical support as we embed anti‑racism throughout our organisation.
