WOOLWICH SERVICE USERS PROJECT

Humanity in Action in the Community

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is well known for its rich naval and military history, stunning architecture, beautiful green spaces and, of course, Greenwich Mean Time, with a point at the Royal Observatory being the universally recognised 0° mark for longitude. But there’s another side to the story that you won’t read about in the tourist brochures.

In 2022 there were nearly 4,500 homeless people in the borough of Greenwich.* The Council has almost 30,000 people on the housing waiting list with only about 1,000 homes becoming available for rent each year.**

Who We Are

Woolwich Service Users Project (WSUP) is a grassroots charity based in the heart of Woolwich, serving the borough of Greenwich. From our hub in SE18, we provide practical and emotional support to those seeking help in our community.

Some of our service users (guests) are sleeping rough on the streets and rely on us for warmth and hot meals. Other guests are struggling with poverty, are unable to heat their homes, can’t afford to buy food and have mental health issues.

With over 100 guests attending our drop-in sessions each week our services are critical in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis directly impacting our community. As the housing crisis grows and the cost of living goes up, the demand for our services is ever greater.

What We Do

We offer essential services including a warm and safe community space where people in need can access hot food. We are the only place in the borough to offer free showers, haircuts, a laundry service and a clothing bank. We support people who are going through, or are at risk of, poverty, homelessness, addiction or any other life challenges. We are a non-judgemental environment and our doors are open to everyone in our community who needs us.

“This place is magic, there’s nowhere else to go. Without this place lots of people wouldn’t survive.” WSUP guest

“It’s like a little piece of heaven. When you come here you know nobody will give you any grief.” WSUP guest

“It’s a lovely service for people who haven’t got family or friends, and have got problems in life, to come and share.” WSUP guest

“WSUP’s a lifeline for people like me.”

WSUP guest

Our History

Set up in 2010, we are mainly run by volunteers and rely on donations to provide our services. When our government funding came to an end in 2014 we were forced to close for six months. But thanks to the dedication and hard work of a former member of staff and some volunteers we were able to raise enough money to reopen in Woolwich Methodist Church as an independent charity.

Since then there have been several bumps in the road. We were evicted from the church when it was earmarked for demolition and had to start over in our current home at Brookhill Road. Converting what was then an abandoned building into a warm, inviting space was no mean feat.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we set up a Gazebo and served food to the community from outside, whatever the weather. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. We were proud to be highly commended in the Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards 2023 in the health and wellbeing category. In March this year we won a community award in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Civic Awards for our contribution to the social, economic and physical wellbeing of the borough.

Most recently we were delighted to win a Women in Management Best Community Initiative Award for empowering women to overcome personal challenges and pursue new opportunities. In October this year we’ll be celebrating 10 years as an independent charity.

Our vision for the future is to expand our services to reach more of the most vulnerable people in our community, provide accommodation for our homeless guests and support people into employment.

Get Involved

There are lots of ways you can help support our work and have a positive impact in your local community:

Volunteer

We always need help so whatever your skills, if you can spare a few hours a week to join our team of volunteers we’d love to have you. Whether it’s welcoming guests, preparing food, managing the clothing bank or assisting with activities and events, there’s a role to suit you.

“WSUP represents giving. It’s a community. Volunteers contributing their time is one of the most precious things they can give to us.” Glen, WSUP guest

“It has helped me to fulfil myself and find a purpose. It makes me feel happy to see other people happy.” Agnė, WSUP volunteer

“Coming from a relatively privileged background, being at WSUP has enabled me to feel comfortable with and appreciate people from all walks of life.” WSUP volunteer

Fundraise

Challenge yourself, have fun and raise vital funds! If you or your company are organising an event or taking part in a sporting challenge, please consider raising money to help us support people in crisis.

You can also join one of our fundraising events like the Big Sleep Out on 24 October. We’ll be sleeping on the floor at Woolwich Works in Royal Arsenal to raise awareness of rough sleeping and raise money to support local homeless people.

Find our more on the events page on our website at wsupwoolwich.org.

Make a donation

You can make a one-off donation or become one of our supporting partners by making a suggested donation of £100 to £400 a month though our JustGiving page: justgiving.com/woolwichserviceusersproject

Your donation will allow us to continue to:

• provide a warm, safe space for everyone in our community who needs it

• serve hot meals to those who can’t otherwise afford them

• offer showers, clothing, haircuts and a laundry service

In addition we will be able to:

• extend our operating hours

• expand our accommodation support service

• help more people with addiction recovery and mental health issues

• provide skills training and pathways to employment for our guests

• offer additional wellbeing activities

• provide outreach services to rough sleepers

As a thank you for your monthly donation we’ll add your company’s name and logo to our website, offer you discounted hire of our accessible, local, meeting space and invite you to a yearly event with our staff and volunteers. You will be able to display our logo to show you’re supporting a local charity. Please bring hope to your local community and make a difference for those struggling. Call or email now on 020 8316 6558 or info@wsupwoolwich.org Head over to our website wsupwoolwich.org to find out more.

*Source: Shelter, 2022 **Source: RBG, 2023