Who are we?
St Luke’s Downham is one of the churches on the Downham estate in Lewisham, one of the 10% most deprived communities in the country. St Luke’s is working to address some of the needs of the estate by promoting the mental, physical, social and economic wellbeing of people and families from the Downham community.
The Front Room Club, a community café, is our main community project and provides a safe and supportive community for people struggling with isolation and loneliness. The café runs on Monday, Tuesday and Friday and is a place to meet people, access support/advice, develop social/practical skills, and talk about mental health challenges.
The Front Room acts as a hub for our services - Parish Nurse; Money and Housing Advice; sewing classes; light seated exercise; pain clinic provided by a qualified physiotherapist; jumble sale; digital support; food and drink; games, activities and social interaction.
The club helps member improve social skills, reduce isolation, increase self-esteem and build community. The club is run by members, supported by staff with specialist skills and experience, who, through shared purpose and goals, work together on planning events, supporting each other and fundraising.
Community impact
The Front Room provides a safe and supportive place for a core group of 40 people and a place for people to drop into for one off support - we usually support around 100 people each quarter.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Our running costs have risen sharply, especially our electricity bill (which has tripled), and our income has not been able to keep up with the rising cost.
We are facing some difficult decisions and may have to make cuts such as reducing the services we provide or opening less regularly.
We are crowdfunding in order to secure the future of this project.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All funds raised with go directly into the costs of running the project, including project staff salary, heating costs, food and drink, and activities/trips for members.