Homelessness at Christmas in Woolwich & Greenwich: the work of WSUP

Christmas is meant to be about warmth, food and company. For a lot of people in Woolwich, the place that gives them all three is a drop-in centre on Brookhill Road. In a documentary for Welcome To Blackheath & Greenwich, filmed in the run-up to last Christmas, host and presenter Mark Epps spends a day at WSUP, the Woolwich Service Users Project, meeting the staff, volunteers and guests who keep it going.

A warm welcome at the door

WSUP describes itself as a grassroots charity that gives practical and emotional support to people going through, or at risk of, homelessness, poverty and addiction. Its starting point, in its own words, is that "everyone deserves to be treated with dignity whatever their situation".

In the film, Mark asks Rob, usually the first person a guest meets, how he makes that moment feel safe. His answer is simple: greet people by name and get them straight in out of the cold.

A lot of them have been sleeping rough. It's just a warm, friendly welcome

What happens at the drop-in

The drop-in opens on Monday from 10am to 3pm, Tuesday from 10am to 2pm, Wednesday from 10am to 3pm (women only) and Saturday from 10am to 2pm, and nobody needs to book. Guests can get a hot meal, a shower, a haircut, their washing done and clothes from the clothing bank.

Other organisations come to Brookhill Road too. The drop-in page lists an outreach nurse from Change Grow Live every Monday, Hepatitis C testing with King's College Hospital, benefits and job support from Jobcentre Plus and the Salvation Army, homelessness advice from the Royal Borough of Greenwich, drug and alcohol support from Via, legal help from Release, Emmaus Greenwich outreach, and breathwork, yoga and sonic meditation.

In the kitchen, the team tells Mark that the team usually cooks for 70 to 80 people a day, and that a hot meal is about far more than food.

It might be the only hot thing they get for a couple of days

Busier than ever

On its corporate partnerships page, WSUP says it has more than 600 registered guests, with around 150 people coming to drop-in sessions each week. In the film, a member of the team tells Mark that the drop-in had about 1,500 visits in the previous month.

The people coming through the door often need help with several things at once. One of the professionals who works with WSUP guests describes clients with "six needs, seven needs": physical and mental health, housing, substance use, trauma and problems with benefits, all at the same time.

WSUP's own figures for the borough, which it sources to government, council and press reports, show why. It says 35 people were sleeping rough in Greenwich on a single night, that 2,157 households were in temporary accommodation in 2024, up 9% on the year before, and that the council has almost 30,000 people on its housing waiting list, with only about 1,000 homes becoming available to rent each year.

Across England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics found that the mean age at death of people experiencing homelessness, among deaths registered in 2025, was 47.3 for men and 43.2 for women.

Winter and Christmas

When it is freezing, councils open emergency beds under the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol, known as SWEP. In the film, an outreach worker explains that SWEP places and Christmas crisis hotel places can give someone two to four weeks indoors while the next step towards housing is worked out.

Dicky, a guest, tells Mark how it worked for him. He and his wife had been homeless for nearly nine months when staff at WSUP signed him up to StreetLink. Soon afterwards he was shown a flat and given the keys the same day.

If it weren't for this place, I wouldn't have that place. It was a saviour

If you see someone sleeping rough this winter, you can send an alert to StreetLink, which connects people over 18 sleeping rough in England and Wales with local outreach services. StreetLink says to call 999 instead if the person needs emergency help or is under 18.

Breaking the stigma

Several people in the film want viewers to look again at who becomes homeless. One of the team puts it plainly: people assume it is about drink or drugs, but often it is just bad luck and circumstances.

There's always a human story

Speaking in the film about the government's national plan to end homelessness, published shortly before filming, one of the team welcomes its focus on prevention and points out that day centres like WSUP are trusted places people find through word of mouth, often before they ever approach the council.

How you can help this Christmas

**Give money.** WSUP relies on donations to keep the drop-in open. You can give online through its donate page.

**Give warm things.** WSUP asks for clothes, especially warm jumpers and coats, sleeping bags and blankets, large rucksacks, strong carrier bags, unused toiletries (especially toothpaste, roll-on deodorant and razors), new underwear, clean men's socks, and cleaning products and washing powder. Call 020 8316 6558 before you drop anything off.

**Fundraise.** Run, walk, bake or ask for donations instead of birthday presents, and raise money through WSUP's JustGiving page.

**Shop.** Tote bags, water bottles, coffee cups and pens from the WSUP shop, with all profits going to the project.

**Bring your business.** Local firms can become supporting partners with a monthly gift.

**Volunteer later.** WSUP has paused volunteer recruitment for now, so keep an eye on the volunteer page or email volunteers@wsupwoolwich.org.

**Stay in touch.** Follow WSUP on Instagram or sign up to its newsletter.

WSUP is the Mayor of Greenwich's Charity of the Year for 2026–27, alongside South London Special League, so there will be plenty of chances to support it over the coming year.

Watch the film

Mark's film ends where it began, at the door on Brookhill Road, with a reminder that a hot meal, a shower and a cup of tea can help someone feel normal again.

Watch the full 22-minute documentary, presented by Mark Epps, at the top of this page or on YouTube: Woolwich Homelessness Crisis: Inside WSUP's Drop-In. For more films about the people, businesses and places of this corner of London, subscribe to Welcome To Blackheath & Greenwich on YouTube.

Find drop-in times, the team and every way to help on WSUP's listing, or visit wsupwoolwich.org.

Cover photo: the WSUP team at the drop-in. Image: WSUP