A COMMUNITY interest company which provides ‘purposeful and positive’ activities for people with mental and physical disabilities is launching an outreach service to help banish loneliness and offer practical support to others.

Made-Well at West Fishleigh Farm near Hatherleigh is hoping to help people in need in the surrounding towns and villages.

The scheme has just started with people attending the centre going out into the community to do gardening, accompanied by Made-Well staff.

In time the plan is to widen the service to offer a wide range of practical help and befriending to elderly or isolated people living nearby.

Laura Feaver, manager at Made-Well, said the service would provide an opportunity for people who attend Made-Well to make a difference to their communities, allowing them to share the skills they have learned on the farm and from the many opportunities on site.

She said: ‘The types of services we will offer include DIY, gardening help, social trips out, filling in forms online, light housekeeping such as laundry or cleaning, shopping, be it collecting shopping or supported shopping trips, as well as a befriending service, accompanied appointments and support, medication collection, walking the dog and much more.

She added: ‘The services will not only help the people we reach out to, but our volunteers also. The volunteers we recruit will be people living in the community and people who come to Made-Well.

‘Not only will people volunteering on the project benefit from getting out and about, the project will provide work experience and social interaction, reduce loneliness, connect people to their communities, increase confidence and self-esteem, improve health and well-being, help people gain skills for employment in the future and improve life skills.’

She added: ‘It is great that the guys here will be involved in the project.’

Made-Well is a community interest company which provides purposeful and positive opportunities, reaching out to all people, especially those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental illness and loneliness.

The unusual commercial venture has a café, gardens, friendly animals open to the public, acres of farmland with sheep and cattle, vegetables and plants for sale and annual events and activities open to all.

The aim of the charity is to offer real opportunities for development and personal growth to those who come to the centre, helping them live independently.

The latest development comes after an exciting year for Made-Well. Last August, the centre took over running the café at Castle Ham Lodge on Castle Road in Okehampton, which provides extra care housing.

Offering supported employment to the people who attend Made-Well, the cafe is stocked with a regular supply of farm-reared meat and seasonal vegetables produced at Made-Well and serves cake, light lunches and refreshments.