A Christmas message to Southport
Richard Owens, CEO of Compassion Acts, writes directly to the town in today's newsletter
Hello and welcome to the Christmas Eve edition of The Southport Lead.
Today’s edition brings something different as we open the newsletter to Compassion Acts - the locally-run charity which is responsible for foodbanks, uniform hubs, welfare support, and much more.
An awful lot of the work done by the charity - and the number of people who need help - goes unseen by many so we wanted to give them a chance to write directly to our readers. So read on to hear from Richard Owens, the charity’s CEO, on the challenges being experienced, the incredible work being done to support those in need, and his hope for 2026.
The Southport Lead will continue to publish over the Christmas period so as always we’d welcome your feedback, tips and questions.
I hope you have the best Christmas you can. For a lot of people, it’s a time of joy and celebration but for others it can be more difficult. To those who are struggling, know that you are not alone in feeling that so don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to others.
Merry Christmas from me and everyone at The Lead.
Southport briefing
📉 Losses at a council-owned hospitality business have risen by another £500,000. The latest accounts for Sefton Hospitality Operations Ltd (SHOL), which is wholly owned by Sefton Council, show that the total amount of money lost by the business have now reached £1.9m. A loss of £346,000 has been forecast but the final accounts show a worse result, while previous years have seen losses of £625,000 and £730,000. The council has previously told The Southport Lead that it remains committed to the long-term future of the business and that these result do not take into account the removal of subsidies it used to pay.
🧑⚖️ A stalker who harassed his ex-girlfriend and a family member has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years. Andrew Fleming, of Hampton Road, pleaded guilty disclosing private images and stalking following an 11-month campaign of abuse in which he tried to get his former partner sacked from work, attended family members’ homes, and bombarded her with messages and threats. While waiting for the sentence, he committed further offences against another family member and was found guilty of two counts of intimidation, stalking and careless driving. Detective Inspector Keith Swift said: “While no sentence will repair the damage that he has caused, I hope this will not only them with some justice, but also encourage other victims to come forward and have the confidence in us as a police force to take reports seriously, and ensure offenders are put before the courts so that they can pay for their crimes.
A Christmas message to Lancashire
Dear Southport,
On behalf of the staff, volunteer and trustee team at Compassion Acts may I wish you a very Happy Christmas and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.
As your neighbours and fellow residents we are not some external player or national structure coming into Southport to ‘sort out’ whatever issues may be perceived. We are living the realities ourselves, but choose to do something practical about it. That is why perhaps we are well placed to be able to offer a few reflections for our town this Christmas time?
Every week we interact with at least 300 households across all our services. Each interaction tells a story and is unique, as we all are. However there are some themes emerging.
The cost of living crisis has not gone away and in a town like Southport there is the danger of poverty lurking behind closed doors, with pride stopping people seeking help until it’s a crisis. Far better to seek help earlier – to address those needs whether its addressing isolation, loneliness, skills, wellbeing or financial matters.
We have been working hard to build a grassroots organisation which is available to all of us here in this place we call home, without perpetuating stereotypes of the ‘poor and needy’ as a distinct group, set apart from the rest of us.
Pressures on households come in all shapes and sizes, the cost of private rents, uniforms and after school activities, seasonal and insecure work plus sadly the perennial problems of domestic violence, addiction and family breakdown. We have often repeated the message that these challenges do not discriminate and any of us can be affected.
There are reasons varied and complex why so many of us are merely surviving, just clinging on. Our new strategy is around building people up so that they can thrive. Too often people have been offered only tools to build resilience against inevitable poverty or to protect them from the storms. We hope to do better and offer tangible personal pathways to permanent change.
Teamwork is everything in most walks of life. Lifting us up, fixing our vision onto a better future needs everyone to play their part. Businesses have become so switched on to ‘social value’ in recent months. I’m humbled by how people are willing to give their time as volunteers and their food and cash donations.
Thank you.
There’s also a vibrant charity and faith sector too with some great working relationships in the town. It is often the very local neighbourhood and collaborative work which can deepen the bonds which draw us together.
That is why we are delighted to have some additional capacity from Lloyds Bank Foundation for 2026 to run Southport Matters www.southportmatters.co.uk where together we can develop some ‘thriving lives’ community projects.
Of course, Southport has had to learn to be reactive in the hardest of ways, perhaps even we are now associated with resilience after the tragic events of 2024. I wonder if a fitting goal for the New Year could be that we now become a place where people can thrive?
Happy Christmas
Richard Owens, CEO of Compassion Acts
Need some help? Want to donate? Want to partner with us? Visit www.compassionacts.uk