Community Connections Lewisham

Community Connections Lewisham (CCL) is a ‘Social Prescribing’ service, helping Lewisham residents aged 18+ to discover and access local groups and services that support their health and wellbeing. The service was launched in September 2020, merging together two former services, ‘Community Connections’ and ‘SAIL Lewisham’, and learning from our experience of leading the Covid-19 Emergency Hub helpline between March-August 2020.

We support adults of all ages to make the changes they want to see in their lives. This may be as simple as finding out about nearby social activities and befriending services, or it may mean giving you support and information for more complex needs such as transport, mental health support needs, caring for someone or living with a long term health condition.

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 immediate support by giving you information (‘signposting’) about nearby social groups or practical support services, or where appropriate we can also refer you directly to one of our ‘key partner’ organisations (e.g. Blind Aid, Lewisham Foodbank, Catbytes IT Hub, VSL befriending network) so that you can benefit from their specialist support.

Along with same day support over our phone line, CCL also offers more in-depth personal planning support (up to 6 weeks) for those facing multiple and complex issues. This could include helping you address visible and invisible barriers to change. For example, supporting those with mobility issues to apply for community transport schemes like Dial-A-Ride; or helping you to access free mental health services.