Contact Groups

What is Contact?

Contact Leisure was established in 1985 and later joined BuryILD in 2013, and quickly became a safe and exiting way for people with learning disabilities to access community-based leisure and social opportunities within the Bury area.

Contact is managed by fully qualified sessional workers and assists people with support needs in the Bury area to explore and enjoy activities within their own community. It’s a safe opportunity for to meet and build upon new and existing friendships.

Contact is keen to encourage people with support needs to have an active social life which will lead to healthy physical and emotional wellbeing.

What does Contact do?

Contact runs a network of daytime and evening social friendship groups. They meet regularly in the community and locations in an around Bury, Greater Manchester. There are times and events which venture outside of Bury and these could be specific events and residentials.

Each group consists of regular members, supported by a qualified sessional worker and a volunteer. The whole purpose is to assist and encourage independence in a social setting and offer respite to regular carers and family members.

Members of the group decide themselves which activity is going to happen next, and this is then advertised and communicated to the group monthly. Typical activities include, bowling, meals out, cinema, gardening, visits to historic and interesting places and many more disability specific events. The opportunities are endless and are facilitated wherever possible by BuryILD.

There are residentials, occasional day trips and weekends away throughout the year and these will be advertised within the groups an on the website. It is advisable to book early for these events are they are very popular, and places sell out fast.

Who benefits from Contact?

We all do! Contact is for anyone with a support need over 18 years of age. They could be either living independently or with family or looking to meet new people in the area.

We accept people from neighbouring broughs to Bury such as Heywood, Bolton, Rochdale etc, and encourage people to seek more information from us if they are unsure.

Families and carers for people with support needs may benefit from this service as it provides a regular respite to continue pursuits which are difficult when caring for someone with needs. It is also a change for families to spend time with other children or partners away from caring responsibilities.

Supported individuals gain confidence and life skills being part of the Contact groups. They will increase in self-esteem whilst making new friends and enjoying new experiences.

Could you be a sessional volunteer?