We were recently shortlisted for the Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards in the Health and Wellbeing category. While we wait with bated breath for the announcement of the winners on 7 February, we thought this would be a good time to update you on our health and wellbeing work.
December 2024 marked the end of a busy and successful year for WSUP, with incredible progress made across services, projects and community impact. Our drop-in sessions consistently drew high attendance, peaking at around 170 guests in one session. The Christmas period was a particular highlight, with over £6,500 in donations and fundraising efforts meaning we could serve Christmas lunch, and give out gifts and essential supplies to our guests. It was a season of generosity, collaboration and community spirit.
WSUP currently supports over 600 guests annually from Greenwich and the surrounding boroughs, with over 30% reporting street homelessness, 12% sofa surfing and 19% living in temporary accommodation. The Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) database shows a 70% rise in rough sleeping in Greenwich, with 337 people sleeping rough in 2023/24 – an increase from 196 the previous year. These figures underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address health disparities and homelessness.
As we move into 2025, we hold great optimism for change. We’ve built strong foundations for the future, including partnerships with health services, funding bodies and local businesses. With funding bids in the pipeline, we’re confident in building capacity to expand projects that tackle issues like housing, healthcare access and rough sleeping. We also recognise the importance of strengthening governance and operational resilience. Training programmes have equipped staff and volunteers with essential skills, while safety improvements and risk assessments ensure we can continue delivering high-quality services in a safe and welcoming environment. December’s successes, paired with our growing partnerships and strategic direction, have set us up for an exciting year ahead!
A recent grant from Commonweal Housing will fund our housing feasibility study. Darek Karwacki, WSUP’s CEO said: “This grant is such great news for us and the people we support. With over 600 people coming to our day centre last year, we know how urgent it is to provide immediate safety and practical support for newly granted refugees at risk of exploitation and people who have experienced exploitation but have not yet been formally identified or referred for official support. Thanks to Commonweal’s support, we can explore how a housing model that meets the needs of people who’ve experienced trauma could provide that safety and stop people from being re-trafficked or ending up on the streets.”
An example of one of our health partnerships is Kings College Hospital’s monthly clinic for our guests, for liver screening and to test for hepatitis C. Katherine Dickson, Hepatology Testing and Treatment Coordinator at Kings College Hospital Liver Department said: “We thought it was important to offer these services to WSUP’s guests because it’s quite a deprived group of people that come to the charity. People in that situation tend to have higher risk of hepatitis C and liver issues, as do people who use, or have used, intravenous drugs and alcohol. WSUP is a good place to catch people we wouldn’t normally be able to and test them. It’s also a public health interest to protect the most vulnerable people in our society and this is an excellent opportunity to find those people.
“Since we started in July 2024 we’ve seen over 70 people in our monthly clinic at WSUP. At least 15 of those people have tested positive for a fibrous scan which means their livers are scarred to a certain amount. We refer people to our secondary pathway at Kings. Depending on the state of cirrhosis of the liver there are different treatment avenues to go down. We’ll monitor and treat people at Kings and try to find the route cause of the problem. It’s not always alcohol. One patient from WSUP had a very high fibrous scan and she didn’t drink alcohol. She had been on long-term medication since she was 15 and no one had been monitoring it, so that was quite a good catch for us.
“If someone tests positive for hepatitis C and needs treatment we treat them with tablets that are 100% effective and will completely cure the virus in eight to 12 weeks.”
We ran our course How to Reduce Anxiety and Boost Self Esteem, funded by Greenwich Mental Health Hub, three times last year, with participants reporting great progress on learning to manage their anxiety.
Jackie (not her real name) is a middle-aged single mum who has experienced anxiety since she was a teenager. Before starting the course, she struggled with letting her children go out with friends because she feared they would not be safe without her. Receiving appointment notifications made her panic. Right from the start of the course she took onboard everything that was presented to her and learned to use tools to alleviate her anxiety. She is now being kinder to herself and treating herself without feeling guilty. She no longer worries about saying she needs to arrive later than usual at her voluntary job. “My outlook on things has totally changed. It’s absolutely incredible!” said Jackie.
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