Downham Centre

Address: 424 Downham Way, Bromley, BR1 5HR
Tel: 020 8698 9403
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday – 10am till 5pm

Downham is an area characterised by a large housing estate first constructed in the 1920’s. Street upon street of low rise housing leaves the elderly, the single and the mentally unstable isolated and lonely. That is unless they come to the 999 Club, which they do in their droves

Among all the usual problems of addictions and homelessness we see more elderly and mentally unstable users in Downham than in any other of our centres. Some of our users are in the early stages of dementia; others have difficulty walking or even fastening buttons. Many neglect their appearance. Our staff help with their apparel or do their shopping. One of the volunteers offers haircuts and manicures, while all of our staff help people to recover their dignity, confidence and self esteem.

Young people are also often the victims of this environment and the inadequacy of their parents. For example, ‘J’, a boy of 13, who had been forced to live in a shed when his mother got a new boyfriend, was found by Sue, one of our staff at Downham. As a result he was placed in care, and has moved into permanent accommodation.