Looking ahead in hope of a year of positive change

It’s January and as a new year begins our director, Patrick O’Dowd, looks ahead to what we hope will be a year of positive change for communities across Greater Manchester and Lancashire… 

It’s that time of year again.  A time where we reflect on what has passed and look ahead to – hopefully – more joy-filled times ahead.  Planning for a year that is full of positive steps forward, health and happiness for those closest to us, and progress against our wishes and goals for the next twelve months. 

A new year, while exciting to embrace a fresh start, can also sometimes feel like a lot of pressure.  It can feel like our expectations are weighty and that, while there’s a somewhat blank canvas ahead of us, it can be daunting to know where to start when it comes to painting in what we’d like to see for the coming months. 

For many people in the communities we work alongside, Christmas is a challenging period and as we all emerge into the wintry January ahead, it can continue to be extremely difficult for many. 

Poverty, homelessness and disadvantage are still highly prevalent in Greater Manchester and Lancashire and for 2025 our Caritas Salford wish is to continue to not only support those experiencing such challenges, but also to call for change to the policy, systems and processes that mean this remains the case.  

We continue to have to adapt and respond to the changing needs of the people we work alongside too.  Our services are shaped with their help and we need to make sure that we’re able to support them through whatever they are experiencing – whether at a time of acute crisis, or for the long-term too. 

As a charity, it’s arguably harder than ever to operate in a space where the political, health and social, economic and third sector landscapes are incredibly complex.  We are hugely grateful to everyone who has chosen to support our work, including the amazing people who took part in our Bee There appeal for Advent and Christmas.  Your generosity really does mean we can continue to journey alongside people at a time they need us most. 

We mustn’t be complacent though; costs continue to rise and it continues to be a challenging time even as we look to keep the lights and heat on in our centres and accommodations, food in our pantry and day provisions, and other day to day expenses to ensure people experiencing poverty, homelessness and disadvantage have what they need to transform their lives with dignity. 

Despite the obvious challenges, I continue to be really proud of our teams of staff and volunteers who work so hard to adapt, think laterally about how to achieve their goals, and constantly work to be as efficient as possible. We’re also continuing to embrace new technologies and look at other ways we can support people and operate our services and other departments too. 

We have lots of plans to share in the coming weeks and months – ambitious plans around our buildings and services to make sure we can continue to make a real, tangible difference in our communities.  Protecting people’s dignity is at the heart of our work, and whatever their individual needs we know that’s always going to remain central to what we do. 

We’ll keep developing and innovating, and I hope that, when I write to say happy new year in January 2026, we will have lots more progress to report on.  There’s certainly lots planned and I hope I’ll be looking back proud on what has been achieved again too. 

We can only continue our work thanks to everyone in the wider Caritas community that supports our charity.  

Thank you, however you do that – whether donating, sharing our news, taking action to help in your community or following us on social media we’re really grateful. 

I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2025 and all the best for the coming months.