This year we’re celebrating WSUP’s 10th birthday, but those of you who’ve been around for a while might remember that WSUP actually started in 2008. Originally it was a local-government project for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction who wanted to help other people experiencing addiction.
In 2014 the project came to an end but four determined volunteers – Marie, Mark, Viv and John (hear more from Marie who still volunteers with us) – refused to leave it there and approached local venues and charities for support. After six months their perseverance paid off and WSUP reopened at Woolwich Central Baptist Church. This was the start of WSUP as we know it today. Driven by our goal to support everyone looking for help in our community, we decided to open our doors to everyone, offering shelter, sandwiches, a laundry, showers, haircuts and companionship to people in need.
The need to be able to raise funds motivated the volunteers to turn WSUP into a registered charity with a board of Trustees, which was achieved in 2017. The church hall was marked for demolition and so in 2019 WSUP moved to an old primary school behind St Peter’s Church where we are today. Refurbishment of this long-derelict building coincided with the pandemic, but WSUP never stopped working and carried on serving food from tents outside the building during lockdown. Our official opening party took place in September 2023.
Over the years WSUP has grown. We welcome people experiencing addiction, poverty, homelessness, mental and physical illness and any other life challenges. We serve hot food and drinks, we have a clothing bank and we put on wellbeing activities like yoga and meditation.
We’re no longer just a crisis service. We partner with external organisations to create referral pathways for our guests (service users) who need support with housing, addiction, skills training and employment. We have an expanding health programme, in partnership with external organisations like Kings College Hospital, to make sure people without easy access to healthcare don’t miss out on services like eyecare, and liver and hepatitis C screening.
This year we’ve had over 600 guests using our services with around 150 people coming to our drop-in centre each week. As the need for our services has increased so has the support we receive from the community. We have 60 volunteers on our books, we have local businesses and individuals who make donations and give us in-kind support, and people who put on fundraising events on our behalf. We wouldn’t be able to survive without the generosity of the community. Here’s to another 10 years!
