Islands of Sanctuary

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  Middleton Co-operating

  We are MIDDLETON CO-OPERATING.

  We’re committed to Middleton and the people who live and work and study here.

  We aim to bring people together across our town to improve the affordability and the quality of the things that have the biggest impact on our lives – for example, housing, energy, child care, social care, food, transport.

  We believe that by working together – co-operating – we can achieve positive lasting change for Middleton. It will take hard work, time, and patience. But together we can build a stronger local community that has a sense of ownership and responsibility for what happens in our town, and how things are done – supporting each other to improve all our lives.

  MIDDLETON COOPERATING has been developed so far by a number of people who live and work locally, but membership is open to everybody. If you support our principles and our vision, we’d love you to join in our work in whatever way suits you.

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  Northern Heart and Soul CIC

  Northern Heart and Soul CIC dream of becoming a connected, healthy, wealthy and powerful community with self organising and renovating principles at its heart.

  We believe that: “The Neighbourhood is the primary unit of change.” Cormac Russell

  We sense this is possible as communities from all over the world are walking this path. Returning home to a more just future. The essence of home is deep within all our bones, from our ancestral lineages. Even if we haven’t experienced home, we deeply long for it.

  On this journey, here in Wigan, we want to make new mistakes and centre those who have been most harmed on the journey to now and try new ways of doing things, some of which will work and some that will fail. We’d like to leave the place a little better for those who journey after us. We know it’s essential to journey in this way if we are to transition into a post capitalist world.

  There’s a window of opportunity for shift making, whilst the pain of injustice and the joy of connection are still vivid memories from the global pandemic experience

  Each community, every neighbourhood, has its own life; its rituals; its traditions; it’s intergenerational trauma, and, its life giving and healing ways of being.

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  Rekindle

  Rekindle is a unique supplementary school.

  It is primarily led by young people who helped design a school they know their peers need. Set to open its doors in March 2022, it will be for students from working-class communities, for students no one really expects to adore education, and for students for whom the regular system fails rather than feeds.

  Our mission is to rekindle a love of education for the young people attending the supplementary school. It might be relationships with teachers, a rigid education system or blatant bias in how certain students are treated. We aim to embrace those who feel disenfranchised by the educational system and encourage them to fall in love with education.

  The school will focus on providing the pastoral care, community support and critical thinking needed to safeguard young people and ensure they have the confidence and networks to soar. Rekindle will work with students who have not been given the opportunity to fall in love with education in their mainstream schools. We will support their education and career aspirations with specialist homework support, mentoring and visits to broaden their horizons.

   

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  Support and Action for Women’s Network – SAWN 

  Support and Action for Women’s Network – SAWN was established in 2007 to promote the welfare of Black African women in Oldham.

  SAWN work predominantly with Black African women and families, who are first generation immigrants in the UK. These families are a minority within the BAME community, especially in Oldham. Many of whom are living with poor mental health and physical health.

  We are very proud to provide a space for women to be brave and vulnerable. Women tell us that SAWN is a safe space where they are not judged and they no longer have to suffer in silence.

  Our services have grown and developed and we are now able to offer a variety of opportunities, support groups and services to help our sisters flourish. 

  Here at SAWN we work with other organisations to provide a wide variety of services and projects to engage with our community. Through our work we aim to break down barriers and create inclusivity. We support women to have a voice promoting inclusion and equity.

  SAWN continues to be an active partner within the Mama Health & Poverty Partnership (MHaPP). A collective of individual organisations that work with Black African Women throughout the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. 

  SAWN in partnership with MHaPP has linked with Salford University to provide placements to Mental Health student nurses. This will increase their awareness and knowledge of issues faced by the women we support. As well as the importance and value of community based culturally appropriate support.

  We believe that our job is to inspire, educate and help our SAWN sisters become strong, independent women.