About the well Communities
The Well Communities is a not-for-profit community interest company founded in 2012, built on the belief that recovery and wellbeing are possible for everyone.
From our hubs in Barrow, Morecambe, Carlisle, and Kendal, we work at the heart of local communities to support people’s health and wellbeing. Our approach is rooted in recovery-oriented systems of care - meaning we focus not just on treatment, but on building hope, resilience, and lasting change.
We bring together lived experience, professional expertise, and community partnerships to create safe, supportive spaces where people can heal, grow, and reconnect with life. Whether it’s through housing, training, mentoring, or social activities, our goal is simple: to help people feel included, empowered, and part of something bigger.
Lived Experience at the Heart of What We Do
At The Well Communities, support is always here - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Everything we offer is free to members and delivered by a team who truly understand, because many of us have been through similar challenges ourselves.
Our staff and volunteers bring lived experience of addiction, mental health struggles, offending behaviour, childhood trauma, learning difficulties, domestic abuse, and homelessness. This means we don’t just offer support, we offer empathy, understanding, and hope.
Over the past ten years, we’ve grown into a trusted and respected recovery community across Cumbria, North Lancashire, and beyond. Today, 64.5% of our staff once used our services, proving that recovery is not only possible, but powerful.
Our approach is different, and it works. Where other services may fall short, our unique mix of compassion, experience, and expertise helps people find a way forward. We’re proud to work alongside the NHS, police, probation, prisons, social services, and local councils but at the centre of it all is community, walking side by side toward recovery.
We support people facing a wide range of challenges, offering flexible options through our Hub & Spoke model, so everyone can find the support that works best for them.
OUR Mission
To build a movement that supports sustainable recovery for people facing severe and complex social exclusion by valuing and harnessing the strengths, skills, partnerships and other assets present in every community.
OUR Vision
For people facing severe and complex social exclusion to have the opportunity to live healthy and fulfilling lives through involvement in a community that supports their recovery, encourages (stigma-free) social integration, builds their abstinence and wellbeing, and is led and organised by their peers and families.
Creating the Right Culture: Core Conditions For Recovery
The Well Communities believe that we cannot build the community around the service, but rather we should be building the service around the community. We developed the core conditions for recovery which we use in our daily practice to provide a trauma-safe environment for people who struggle with substance misuse.
Lived Experience
Support is delivered by people who have “been there” themselves, providing understanding, empathy, and practical guidance that only comes from real-life experience.
Connection
Recovery thrives when people feel seen and supported. Building strong, positive relationships is at the heart of every step toward change.
Meaning & Purpose
Finding direction and personal goals helps recovery become more than just overcoming challenges - it becomes about building a life you value.
Community
Healing happens together. Being part of a supportive, inclusive community helps people feel valued, understood, and less alone.
Trauma Safe Environment
Recovery is safest and most effective when people feel secure, respected, and free from judgment, with support that recognises past trauma.
Hope
Belief in a better future is essential. Recovery begins with hope - the confidence that change is possible and a fulfilling life is within reach.