About Lewisham Local
Lewisham Local connects and collaborates with individuals, businesses and organisations to encourage all to share what they can do to respond to emerging and enduring needs in the community, and strengthen local community groups.
Their vision is a connected Lewisham that gives and shares and works together to build a happier, healthier community, with fewer people allowed to fall through the cracks.
They involve local people, businesses and community organisations in sharing their resources to create community cohesion. Their asset-based approach makes the most of what Lewisham already has, and their work is co-produced with local people to centre lived experience.
Lewisham Local have 18 projects and work both directly supporting individuals and with strategic partners, carrying out work including a bank of things for economically disadvantaged young people, a community green space, a Time Bank, and numerous projects around food insecurity and food justice.
Lewisham Local's Challenges
The cost-of-living crisis is a strain felt by all; but the charity sector is particularly stretched to meet the emerging sets of needs in our communities. The challenges tackled by charities run deeper than ever, while meaningful funding is far harder to come by.
As an organisation working across the breadth of such a large and diverse borough as Lewisham, with a mission to react quickly to new issues, Lewisham Local has had to concentrate on responding to urgent needs, such as supporting Warm Welcomes centres across the area.
Every cloud has a silver lining; while these are evidently times of deep concern for many individuals, the voluntary sector has grown impressively and community organisations deserving of support are popping up all around us to support and facilitate our shared aims.
Lewisham Local's Achievements / Goals
Lewisham Local expects to directly support more than 5,000 people each year, with their capacity growing constantly. They facilitate more than 4,000 volunteering hours annually, and support more than 500 community groups, through running networks and events, while also bolstering community strength with a grant-giving programme aimed at small organisations totalling more than £150,000.
Last year, Lewisham Local supported more than 50 Warm Welcome centres to stay open through the winter, with activities which attracted more than 18,000 visitors. Their community food project served more than 2,671 meals last year alone. Their Bank of Things, located in Lewisham Shopping Centre, provided school uniforms, art equipment, stationery, and hygiene supplies to more than 500 local children.
The mission of building a happier, healthier Lewisham is a complex one, and takes in a wide array of challenges faced by individuals: wellbeing, access to education, inequality, and loneliness; to name a few. The provision of their services is geared as much towards direct support to those in need as weaving a thread through the largest gaps in the safety net, strengthening our community and reducing the risk of serious need arising.
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