Deptford Centre

Address: 21 Deptford Broadway, London, SE8 4PA
Tel: 020 8691 7734
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday – 10am till 5pm

Our centre in Deptford, prominent on the Broadway, is the largest of the three and houses our nursery, our community hall, and the office.

The main centre has a servery, a laundry, comfortable sitting areas, and provides the opportunity for other agencies to assist in our work.

• Equinox provides referrals to detoxification clinics, rehabilitation, substitute medication and provision of clean needles.
• Nova focuses on crack cocaine, a problem prevalent in the area.
• Foundation 66 provides a worker to help those suffering from the effects of alcoholism.
• South London and Maudsley PCT provide a nurse who has her own treatment room in the centre so that she can offer inoculations to prevent hepatitis and other blood borne diseases. We also receive bi-annual visits from University College Hospital’s mobile TB screening unit
• Terence Higgins Trust provide HIV screening services
• Deptford Hearing Voices continue to visit on a regular basis offering support for the mentally vulnerable and training for our staff.
• Bench Outreach refer the homeless to hostels and more permanent accommodation.

The nursery provides essential care for the most deprived children, many of whom are children of people who are addicted to drugs . They are fed and clothed, sometimes taught to speak, sometimes, as a result of our concerns, taken into care. 

The hall, apart from providing a venue for our own activities, such as the Carol Service and Childrens’ Christmas party, is hired by a wide variety of community groups. 

The following are just two cases illustrative of our work:

In order to support their drug habit Jack forces Jill to prostitute herself. If she earns too little he beats her up. A few months ago she came to us with broken ribs and a damaged pubic bone. Sharon, our deputy director, took her to hospital and then to a women’s refuge, having to wait until 9pm to gain access. Jill was understandably frightened that her pimp would find her. Sharon spent two days at Lewisham’s Homeless Unit to get her suitable and safe accommodation.

Elizabeth, was sleeping rough in St Paul’s Churchyard. One day a young woman turned up at our centre, looking for her mother. She had come from South Africa, and, on the advice of the Salvation Army, had searched in day centres. The description matched Elizabeth, and with the help of our street network we found Elizabeth and they were re-united.