Why we exist

Our community is facing a wide range of complex social issues.

There is a growing homeless crisis: rough sleeping is rising by 50% year on year.
One in five children in Oxford city are living in poverty.
There are high rates of re-offending - 61% of offenders in HMP Bullingdon will re-offend within one year.
30,000 people over 65 live alone.

Aspire is here to help our community's most marginalised people to overcome these issues and build their skills, qualifications, work experience and resilience to achieve their full potential. We don't offer short-term fixes: we work with vulnerable people to help them not only find employment and secure housing, but to prevent them from ever becoming at risk of poverty or disadvantage again.

Our mission and values

Mission: To provide person-centred employment, work experience, training and support opportunities to empower people to unlock their potential to build their lives and futures.

Vision: Anyone, whatever their past, can achieve remarkable life change and re-connect with society.

Values: Ambitious. Supportive. Participatory. Inspiring. Reliable. Enterprising.

What makes us different?

Over 60% of Aspire's team have lived experience of homelessness, substance misuse or offending histories
Our support workers have 145 collective years of experience supporting disadvantaged people with complex needs
Aspire have achieved 328% growth in annual turnover since 2012-13
Partnership working is at the heart of everything we do. We work with 31 organisations across the Thames Valley to reach those most in need.

You can help us to support a growing number of local people in urgent need by getting involved with Aspire's life-changing work.

Sources: Oxfordshire Uncovered Report; open.justice.gov.uk

Latest

Sarah's Oxford half challenge

I'll be running the Oxford half-marathon on on Sunday October 13th to raise money for Aspire Oxford.
Steve's fundraising page

I was looking to gain a place in the half-marathon when my sister told me about Aspire. Living in Bristol I see lots of homelessness and social issues such as drink and drug problems, the work that Aspire does is incredibly valuable to the individuals they help and society as a whole.
Recovery and fitness

I am fund raising for aspire to give back for all the help given to me in my recovery and I want to run this half marathon to also prove what can be done through dedication and courage to so no to a life of drugs and yes to a free and happy life
Jane Running the Oxford Half Marathon

Aspire is a really important organisation that supports people to get back on their feet. Whether that's people who need some help to get back to work, preventing homelessness, supporting people to find training and education - it's all about enabling people to develop and overcome the barriers that have been preventing them from achieving the their life goals. I've been working with Aspire for several years, but I'm delighted that have been an employee since February this year.