Arc formerly Taunton Association for the Homeless

09/09/2026

Last Wednesday, our allotment team, made up of both community and client volunteers, came together for a planning meeting at the café in Vivary Park. Lots of ideas were shared as they looked ahead to the next steps for the allotment. ☕️

Everyone is very proud of the pumpkins, which are ripening beautifully in time for Halloween, as well as our gorgeous, tall sunflowers. 🎃🌻

A big thank you to all our hardworking volunteers, we can’t wait to see what comes next! 🙏

08/09/2026

A huge thank you to Taunton Round Table 140 for choosing to support us at their Charity Speaker & Auction event this October.✨

These events are always hugely supported by the local business community, and we hear tables are selling fast!

If you’d like to come along and help raise some much needed funds, please contact Jon Rata using the details below. 👇

🥂 Just under two months to go until our annual charity speaker night dinner with guest speaker and charity auction!

We are privileged to welcome Sir Alastair Cook CBE as our guest speaker for the evening. Knighted in 2019 for his historic services to cricket, Sir Alastair is widely regarded as one of England’s greatest batters having accumulated an astonishing 12,472 runs across 161 Test matches. Our guest speaker is once again being sponsored by Milsted Langdon, and we are grateful to them for their continued support.

This year’s fundraising efforts will be dedicated to Arc formerly Taunton Association for the Homeless. For 50 years, they have brought hope and life-changing support to homeless individuals across Somerset. We will be running raffles and an auction during the event, so please fill your table with generous bidders ready to support this life-changing organisation.

Tickets are priced at £800 – £1,100 per table of 10 guests, depending on seating location. The dinner will be held at Taunton School on Friday 30 October 2026, starting at 7pm.

Book your place via Jon Rata (event organiser)
[email protected] or 07833 285741

05/09/2026

6.00am start today for some of the team who are marshalling at Wellington Independent Market Food Fair. 🍲

Huge thank you to The Crepe Cart who have very kindly been providing us with free food & drinks! 🙏

Come and say hello 👋 we will be here until 4.00pm.

04/09/2026

⭐️ 50 Stories for 50 Years Friday ⭐️

Every Friday, we’ll be sharing a story from our 50 Stories for 50 Years campaign.

This week, we’re sharing the story of how Arc began, told by Ken Martin, one of our original founders.

After talking to Ken, we realised that everyone involved genuinely cared about the community. They were volunteers who had seen a problem and felt that something had to be done. It was a real community effort, people coming together to make a difference. 💙

You can read Ken’s full story, and discover more stories from our 50 Stories for 50 Years campaign, here: https://www.arc50.co.uk/about/50-stories-for-50-years/

01/09/2026

📢 Volunteers Needed This Saturday! 🙌

We’re looking for volunteers to help with marshalling at the Wellington Food Festival this Saturday. 🍔🎉

If you can spare some time and would like to get involved, we’d really appreciate your help!

Interested? Please send us a message or email us at [email protected] for more details.

Thank you! 🙏❤️

25/08/2026

Sam and Rosie are all set up today in the stunning grounds of Frethey House for an afternoon of networking & community connections organised by Taunton Chamber of Commerce 🤝

A perfect opportunity to get to know some of the wonderful organisations supporting those who live, work and do business in Taunton, spread the word about Arc and our 50th Year Anniversary. 💙

24/08/2026

🌱 New Supported Gardening Project Launches! 🌱

We’re excited to share a new supported gardening project, created by Jacob Bell in partnership with the Victoria Park Action Group.

The project, which has been designed to provide opportunities for our clients to get involved in caring for the park, build confidence and skills, support wellbeing, and strengthen connections within the local community. 🌿

One of the first creations is this fantastic hedgehog and bug hotel! 🦔🐝 A great example of how an initiative like this can bring people together while making a positive contribution to the local environment.

We’re looking forward to seeing the project grow and, most importantly, seeing the positive impact it has for the clients involved. 💙

21/08/2026

💙 50 Stories for 50 Years! 💙

To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we’re sharing 50 stories, one for each year of our work. Each story offers a glimpse into the people, challenges and achievements that have helped Arc grow, adapt and continue making a difference across Somerset.

From now until December, we’ll be sharing 10 stories each month, celebrating the people and moments that have shaped our journey.

👉 You can discover the amazing stories here: https://www.arc50.co.uk/about/50-stories-for-50-years/

19/08/2026

Following Andy Burnham’s announcement of a £442 million plan to tackle homelessness and get rough sleepers off the streets by Christmas, our CEO, Paul Richards, will be speaking live on air with Charlie Taylor on BBC Radio Somerset at 8.40am this morning. ⏰

Paul will be sharing his perspective on the announcement here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_somerset_sound

Don’t miss it! 🎙️

Listen live to Radio Somerset on BBC Sounds

13/08/2026

💙 50 Stories for 50 Years 💙

To launch our 50 Stories for 50 Years campaign, we’re delighted to share a short video created by Viet, a Media & Content Creation student from Taunton College, during his placement with Arc.

In the video, three people share their personal stories and experiences, offering a glimpse into their journeys and helping to give a greater understanding of homelessness and the support provided by Arc.

We can't thank Damien, Tony & Mike enough for sharing their story. 🙏

As Arc celebrates 50 years of ending homelessness in Somerset, we w...