How we work

Big Life is in the business of changing lives. We fight inequality by working with people and places to create opportunities and inspire change.

The welfare state is failing to reduce inequality. In a time of stretched public services and deep societal division, we need to rethink the way we work.

In every community we need to maximise our impact and bring about change. We will develop partnerships with communities, decision-makers and services to widen opportunities, grow local assets and build resilience.

There might be all sorts of things stopping people from getting where they want to be. People juggle their health, work, relationships and much more besides. People facing multiple disadvantages often face the biggest challenge, as the number and severity of issues directly affects their ability to make and sustain positive changes. When one thing goes wrong it can feel overwhelming and impact on everything.

Public services are often focused on single issues, so people facing multiple challenges are referred to lots of different places, have to repeat their stories and sit on waiting lists. The staff they see are only trained to deal with one issue, and services focus on their offer, not what someone wants. This is especially difficult to navigate for someone with little social support or financial means.

That’s why all our services work with people on all areas of their life and help them with the things that matter most to them first, working with them to remove all the obstacles to changing their life for the better. We help people see the skills and support they already have so that they can build on it. To make sure we do this, we work in the Big Life Way.