Working in partnership with our community

We are changing the way we work with local organisations and investing more in our community. This will help more local charities and community groups partner with us to support people who use our services, as well as their families and carers.  

These changes are happening across all our services (find out more here), including the Lewisham 24/7 Community Mental Health Centre. They are making it easier for us to work with both large charities as well as smaller grassroots organisations in Lewisham.  

We are doing this because we know people  especially from our local Black communities often have poorer experiences and outcomes when using NHS services. We want to better understand and respond to the cultural needs of all local people, and these organisations are helping us do that. We want to learn from our new approach to help us improve our services, build better understanding, closer links and greater trust with everyone we serve.

Community partners

SE London Mind and Together for Mental Wellbeing — are two of our larger charity partners work ing with our teams across the whole of Lewisham, including the 24/7 Centre.  

  • SE London Mind has a Senior Mental Health Advisor working within primary care alongside our clinical team to support social inclusion. They connect people to local community partners and offer advice and guidance and also help signpost people to partner organisations for more support when needed.
  • Outreach Advisors from  Together for Mental Wellbeing are working closely with our Assertive Outreach teams, supporting service users through joint visits. They also run drop-in wellbeing sessions including at one of our other charity partners: Enable Leisure & Culture in Lewisham Shopping Centre.  

We are also partnering with  a number of  smaller  Lewisham-based  voluntary and  community partners  to  help us deliver services  for those using  the 24/7 Centre and across the borough. They are  providing  a range of  group and one-to-one support  for our service users, including sports, health and wellbeing activities, and faith-based support:   

  • Autism Voice – Wellbeing support groups, wellbeing activities, advocacy and interpretation for neurodivergent service users and carers.

  • Bold Vision Feed the Hill - ‘Shared Plates, Stronger Minds’ project including weekly communal cooking and holistic peer support.

  • Enable (Lewisham Healthy Walks) – Walking Group featuring post-walk mental health workshops, activities and peer-support.

  • Genesis Impact – ‘REACH: Address the MESS’ a holistic programme for young Black men, combining faith-driven reflection and practical wellbeing tools rooted in African proverbs.

  • Holistic Well Women – Holistic mental health and wellbeing programme featuring expressive arts and movement, therapeutic art, peer support, nature-based wellbeing interventions and a safe space for Black men.

  • Lite-Waves – ‘Re -Connect Tyn ‘Men that Hurt’’ a programme for young black men including intensive support, 1-to1 drop-in, community events and advocacy.

  • Mabadiliko – Emotional Support Groups (ESGs) for Black African and Caribbean communities, with specialist neurodivergent sessions and enhanced individual support.

  • Red Ribbon Living Well – Creative workshops (sewing, crocheting, textile earrings), peer support, mental health discussion workshops, community champions advocacy and outreach work for black and ethnic minority communities.

  • Rock-I – Christian-led Church-based project offering social clubs, hot meals, creative and digital skills activities and counselling services.

  • Saving Souls Hub – Christian-led holistic mental health projects including foodbank, women’s self-defence and men, women and youth football with supplementary mental health forums.

  • Therapy 4 Healing  – 1-to-1 therapeutic support and group support sessions for Black and culturally diverse communities.

  • Youths in Mind – Peer support and faith-sensitive mental health workshops for Muslim women and young people.  

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