Welcome to Reach4ward For Social Justice (Reach4ward).

A non-profit community interest company based on the principles of social justice, right here in the heart of Hebden Bridge, bringing you events, workshops, training & much more… This is something for everyone and you can get involved.

So, what do we mean by social justice?

We mean that we want to see a society based on the principles of equality and diversity. The dictionary defines the term as: “justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges within a society”. In practical terms it encompasses challenging everything and anything that makes society unequal or puts people at a disadvantage from their neighbour. This can range from financial, gender based, ethnicity, class, physical and psychological disability, family composition, or any other situation that excludes some people from participating equally in all that Hebden Bridge (and surrounding areas) has to offer.

Whilst our town has more than its fair share of cultured, educated and enlightened people who all contribute to that Hebden Bridge vibe & an abundance of financial & creative wealth, there are still many here who cannot contribute and it’s for those people that we are setting up this organisation. In particular there are few opportunities for young people to take ownership of their town both now and in the future; there are serious issues of isolation across all social groups, partly because of the geography of the area but also the demography with an increasingly elderly population. There are many people who feel isolated and suffer mental health issues, and there is much hidden poverty in our town.

Who are we?

We are local people born & bred in Hebden Bridge, some of us off-cumdens from Manchester [we hope that’s not held against us!] who have called Hebden Bridge our home for a long time. Some of us were actually born in Halifax Royal Infirmary and some of us are a bit older than that but nonetheless feel that being here for 38 years does give us some experience, loyalty and ownership of our lovely town.

We feel we’ve got the knowledge & experience and know what we are talking about when it comes to being socially excluded, having been brought up by single parents on benefits, being educated at local schools, & experiencing economic issues at grass-roots level. But we also know about access to opportunity, having benefitted from opportunities of education and employment across a range of social, public & legal services to bring skills to our community.

We have seen the impact of the extensive government cuts and the austerity agenda across Calderdale and the devastation to services in Hebden Bridge & surrounding areas. We think we have the expertise here in our community to reverse some of the impact by providing this service to you.

What will we do?

We aim to extend the ambition of the town by:

– Engaging the community to develop Reach4ward as an organisation that represents all interests across Hebden Bridge – in particular engaging young people to gain skills to be able to participate fully in the life of Hebden Bridge both now and in the future;
– Deliver events to reduce isolation across the valley;
– Promote social inclusion in everything we do;
– Deliver Welfare Rights advice to alleviate poverty and increase equality;
– Organise and deliver training in education opportunities & employability skills;
– Provide access to reducing barriers & tackling mental health

And finally, all of the above is not exhaustive… We want to hear from you what you want; your ideas & suggestions are going to be what underpins the progression & development of this project, borne out of wanting change and a better life, for everyone we know & meet.

Currently,this page is managed by Kate & Liz and you can contact us here via messenger or at [email protected]
We will have a website (hopefully) & a mobile number in due course.

We look forward to hearing from you!