About Us
ATD FOURTH WORLD is a human rights-based, anti-poverty organisation with more than 40 years' experience of engaging with individuals and institutions to find solutions to eradicate extreme poverty in the UK.
Working in partnership with people affected by poverty, ATD Fourth World has, since 1968, concentrated its efforts on supporting families and influencing policy through work at Frimhurst Family House in Surrey and our National Centre in London. read more...A member of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, we work in more than twenty-five countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. We work with affiliated organisations in 90 other countries and have over 100,000 members worldwide.
As part of our commitment to representing people living in poverty at an international level, ATD Fourth World has a permanent delegation at the European Union and holds general consultative status with UNICEF, UNESCO, ECOSOC, the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe.
On 17 October 1987, ATD Fourth World was at the root of the laying of a Commemorative Stone honouring the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger on the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme et des Libertes in Paris. Five years later, the United Nations recognised 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and called on all nations to renew their commitment to fighting poverty and to show their solidarity with the poor.
Since then, more than thirty similar Commemorative Stones have already been laid around the world, from the European Parliament in Brussels to the Gardens of the United Nations in New York. Each one bears the words of Joseph Wresinski, the founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World: "Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty."
Publications
Read the lastest edition of our regular journal, Dignity, here (pdf).
Or download the latest annual review (pdf).Frimhurst Family House
Frimhurst Family House is a fully-modernised Victorian house set in its own extensive woodland and grounds and is, for many families, a refuge where parents and children can spend quality time together away from the stresses of daily life.
As the location for all residential aspects of ATD Fourth World's Family Support Programme, Frimhurst Family House aims to provide families with a setting in which to relax, to spend quality time together, to think clearly, to learn new skills, to meet other families in the same situation and to learn together in a respectful, non-judgemental environment. read more...With residential accommodation for 30 people, a carpentry workshop, an art studio, dining facilities and disabled access, Frimhurst is also available to hire for a variety of purposes, including conferences, group meetings, wedding receptions, children’s parties and private classes.
For more information, contact:
Frimhurst Family House
Guildford Road
Frimley Green,
Surrey GU16 6NU
tel: 01252 835489
email: contact@atdfrimhurst.co.uk
Frimhurst Family House
Guildford Road
Frimley Green,
Surrey GU16 6NU
tel: 01252 835489
email: contact@atdfrimhurst.co.uk
Improving Support for Families in Poverty
In 2010 ATD Fourth World received funding from Oxfam to use the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to map the lives of two large, extended families with first-hand experience of poverty in two deprived London boroughs.
The aim of the project was to focus on the positives in the families' lives and, from that basis, work through their difficulties in partnership not only with the families themselves but also the professionals involved in their lives.
According to Connor, one of the research participants, "It really helped me think about stuff that I hadn't thought of before. It made me realise that I shouldn't just spend my money every week like I had been doing, without thinking. If I could manage to do everything that we planned, like putting money on one side for a deposit, then we would all be much better off in the future." Read more...The results of this research have now been published in Improving Support for Families in Poverty, a four page case study which covers the research findings, the methodology and the advantages of using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, and can be downloaded here or at www.oxfam.org.uk/policyandpractice.
The full report, This Is My Life, is available for download here.
Building Confidence
Building the capacity of people experiencing poverty to have their voices heard and their contributions recognised is at the heart of ATD Fourth World’s work.
With this as its focus, a series of workshops, held throughout the year and based around the photographic exhibition The Roles We Play, brought together a mix of long-standing grassroots members, people who had been involved in the European Young People's Project and a number of friends and supporters. The aim was to document the important roles people play inside of their families, organisations and neighbourhoods. Read more...The initial workshops encouraged people to be aware of how they were active within both ATD Fourth World and their own communities. This allowed participants to concentrate on better expressing and articulating these actions in addition to discussing their involvement in various projects and campaigns. Later workshops looked at confidence-building measures to facilitate public speaking and explaining ATD Fourth World to others, as well as offering opportunities to practice on film and before an audience.
In the words of one participant, “It's always nice to get together with your peers and discuss issues and our opinions on life inside and outside of ATD Fourth World but what I really enjoyed was talking in front of the camera and standing behind a podium.
“It was important to be able to do it in front of a small group of people I know well. It was a chance to practise public speaking, practise reading a script and practise making eye contact with an audience. It helped me not to shake so much and not to rush through things when the nerves kicked in!
“It's important to speak out. I get asked a lot about what I do in the organisation and this was a chance to prepare answers to questions like that. I like to think that this can give an insight into the organisation and our lives that people have never heard before.”
This is an edited extract from the 2011 ATD Fourth World Annual Review, which can be downloaded here.
The Globalgiving Gateway Challenge
Throughout April, ATD Fourth World is participating in the Globalgiving Gateway Challenge and we need your help to spread the word!
To meet this Challenge, we are seeking to raise £2,000 from fifty different donors before 2 May. The prize for reaching this target will be a permanent place on GlobalgivingUK's fundraising website and the opportunity to further benefit from their wide range of fundraising support and training tools.
Our aim is not only to pass the Challenge but to raise £3,000 in one month to enable us to provide respite breaks, a Christmas Party and a Summer Fun Day for families living in long-term poverty in the UK. Read more...Donations must be given through the Globalgiving website this month in order to contribute to the Challenge total. You can click here to donate to ATD Fourth World now and help us reach our target!
By sharing the link with just five of your friends and family you can help to spread the word about the Challenge. With your help we can continue to improve the lives of disadvantaged families.
Thank you for your support!