Our Work
‘Meeting the needs of people in crisis and giving hope to the most vulnerable in our society’
Our whole person care approach is delivered across four key pillars – Practical, Physical, Social and Mental – as follows:
Practical
Compassion in Action has, since its inception in 2006, found community solutions to community challenges. From our distribution centre in Atherton, furniture and clothing are provided free of charge to individuals and families in need who have been officially referred to the charity by our partner agencies.
Low-cost household items, bric-a-brac, clothing and small items of furniture are available for a small donation from our community outlet in Lowton – offering families who are struggling financially an alternative to traditional charity shops. A Book Swap service and Heat Retreat are also located on site.
The community café (which also serves as a Heat Retreat), function room, board room and office suite at Patrick House are all available for private hire throughout the year. Guests can be fully catered for on site when booking our outstanding purpose-built accommodation for events, meetings and training. Frequent visitors include our valued veterans, who we are proud to serve as holders of a Bronze Certificate presented by The Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme.
Physical
Compassion in Action has a proud tradition of offering catering and administration apprenticeships to local people – helping them to gain official accreditations and learn skills for life. In many cases, this has led to offers of employment at our headquarters, Patrick House, which is rated ‘Excellent’ under Environmental Health’s Food Hygiene Scheme.
As a charity, we are proud to advocate for the rights of adults with learning disabilities; individuals and families in crisis or need; and other marginalised community members who may experience inequalities of health, income or opportunity. Alongside Wigan Council and our valued partners, we look for innovative ways to help people progress from being in need and total dependency, as well as to break generational cycles of poverty.
Social
Adults with learning disabilities are empowered to live with more choice and independence in purpose-built accommodation comprising our Community Village of Inclusion – located on the doorstep of Leigh town centre. Personalised care is delivered on site by our partners Cherish UK, with support from Wigan Council Adult Social Care.
We are proud to create opportunities for people who are experiencing social isolation to form friendships, as well as to forge community bonds through volunteering.
Mental
Compassion in Action’s therapeutic wellbeing centres, Oasis House and Haven House, are here for people who need to take a step away when they feel overwhelmed by the stresses, strains and difficulties of their everyday life.
Here, they take a breath, feel safe and secure, and are then ready for our support to move towards a more positive future.
Our therapeutic wellbeing centres provide a new and unique, non-clinical model of rehabilitation. In addition to offering day-to-day emotional support services, we have seven bedrooms centred around shared communal space, where people can stay for five nights/six days. With 24-hour support, we provide short-term therapeutic interventions in this safe and secure residential setting.
Our whole-person, asset-based approach to care moves away from the traditional clinical model. It is designed to support and empower individuals to acknowledge their problems and the source, and to make healthy choices to reduce the risk of escalating to mental health crisis. They will learn to put into practice the things that will help create a sustainable improvement to their lives, so that they can manage their mental and emotional wellbeing in a healthier way.
What our clients say…
“I was given a task to create my own crisis plan and felt like this really put me in control – something I feel has been missing for a long time. I got to decide what I think would help, and things I felt were important with managing my mental health. This is something I still work on to this day and I feel this plan was my turning point. It really made me sit with myself and think about my life, my emotions and feelings, and my future.”
“I spent several sessions at Oasis House updating my CV, and creating profiles on job sites. I don’t have a laptop or computer at home, so was given my own space twice a week and could go in and use the laptop to job search and apply. I am now back in work! My support team helped me to research interview skills and we even did interview practice runs alongside my sessions, which I found so helpful. I am currently part time, but have been offered full time if I pass my probation.”
