Community Connections Lewisham (CCL) is a ‘Social Prescribing’ service, supporting anyone living in the borough (aged 18+) who is looking for help to improve their health and wellbeing. We help you to find out about local services and groups that are relevant to you, and help you to access them more easily.
It all starts with a chat, enabling one of our friendly team members to understand your needs and circumstances, and offer support that is relevant to you. This could be as simple as providing information (‘signposting’) about nearby social groups or practical support services, or it may mean referring you directly to one of our partner organisations if and when you would benefit from their specialist support (read more about our ‘key partners’ here).
We understand that many people will require more in-depth support in order to help them address complex needs and barriers. For example, challenges around your mental health, access to local transport, or living with a long-term health condition. Or it may be that you are not sure what you need and would like a longer chat to explore what is available in the community. In these cases, we will be happy to provide ‘person centred planning’ (PCP) support with one of our Community Facilitators. They can offer specialist knowledge about services and activities in your particular neighbourhood and will help you to explore what changes you want to make. Because this is a longer process, we will need to take some personal details from you and add you to our PCP waiting list.
The quickest way to get in touch with us is by phoning our main support line on 0330 058 3464. You can also fill out our online referral form here, after which we will phone you. You can refer yourself, or we are also happy to accept referrals from professionals, family members or friends. If you are referring someone else then please ensure you have received their consent first.
Looking to get more involved in the community? Visit Lewisham Local for information on local volunteering opportunities and more.