Talk and walk-around of the UK’s first Healthy Living Centre – Thursday 10th October
The Bromley-by-Bow Centre combines spaces for the community, social-care, health-care, skills and job advice. It has grown organically since the 1980’s, spearheaded by the area’s minister, Andrew Mawson, who saw the value of reaching out to local artists and widening the remit of the old church.
Services stretch from conventional healthcare for local residents to opportunities to set up your own business; from support with tackling your credit card debts to becoming a stained glass artist; from learning to read and write to getting a job for the first time or a helping hand up the career ladder.
Bromley-by-Bow Insights – https://www.bbbc.org.uk/insights/
The success of the centre was formalised through the Healthy Living Centre programme in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Additionally, a group of researchers have been collecting evidence on the Bromley-by-Bow model, to help the centre evolve and transfer lessons elsewhere. They found that meeting basic needs and providing opportunities for personal growth form the foundations of the blended and varied programme.
Art is central to the success of a building which not only provides a holistic programme to address the wider determinants of health but imbues a sense of well-being through co-crafted furniture and decor alongside widespread connections to nature through materials, natural light and a range of gardens.
charlottestuart.design.blog 