Waddington Street Centre (WSC) is a mental health charity based in Durham City. We proudly celebrated our 40th Anniversary in November 2021 and are pleased to be a member of the Durham Mental Wellbeing Alliance.
As a community resource centre, we are committed to mutual support, kindness and hope. All of our members have mental health needs and WSC is a safe space where members, volunteers and staff work together to make recovery and social inclusion possible. We welcome people from all parts of the county but recognise that sometimes travel can make things difficult.
We pride ourselves on being user led. We encourage those with lived experience to share their knowledge and thoughts about how services at WSC and across the County can be improved. We take a lead on user engagement within the Alliance.
We believe that feeling involved and having meaning and purpose, promotes resilience and good mental health. Helping people to enjoy life again - or just that bit more - is our passion.
We have a team of support staff who are here to help in difficult times. Everyone’s problems are different but our staff are highly knowledgeable and experienced. If we don’t have the answer it’s highly likely we’ll be connected with other people and organisations who can also help. So please just ask.
If you would benefit from being part of a friendly and supportive community then you might like to consider Waddington Street Centre.
Within the Alliance the centre has two services on offer:
1. Waddy Social Club ‘Helping you to feel connected’
Socialising with other people can be very good for your mental health. We know that coming to new places and meeting new people can be very scary; we aim to make this difficult process as easy as possible.
We have staff, volunteers and peer supporters (members with lived experience of mental health problems who help and support other members) who are here to welcome you and help you to settle in.
Why is socialising important?
Gets us out of the house and gives us something to look forward to
Helps us to make new friends and build supportive relationships
Gives us the opportunities to share our worries and frustrations
Helps us to sleep better because we’ve been out and about and sharing our ‘stuff’ with others gives us less to worry about at bedtime
Having a laugh – did you know that laughing helps our mental health? When we laugh we release endorphins which make us feel calmer and happier
Helps us to feel connected to others and part of something. Loneliness and isolation can make our mental health worse.
Meeting new people and doing new things gives us something new to talk about with other friends and family.
Our social sessions are very informal and many have other activities attached to them such as: arts and crafts, quizzes, darts, board games etc. So, Waddy members - users of our services - can simply come in for a cuppa and a chat or to join in with an activity. Hot drinks costing 50p are always on offer from our café along with a variety of snacks.
If you are struggling and need a chat you can catch one of our support staff for some help. We also have a useful leaflet about the support so that you can understand what this involves.
2. Waddy Feel Good Service (WFGS) ‘Helping you to have better physical health and wellbeing’
This friendly, safe and supportive service will help you to look after and improve your physical health. We recognise that when people are struggling with their mental health it can be difficult to look after physical health too.
How can the WFGS help?
When you start to attend the WFGS we will chat and identify your health needs. Together we will plan some achievable and realistic goals with staff supporting at your pace to achieve the things you want to. There are no time restrictions or pressures from us but we will encourage and support you to get the most from the service.
Physical activities and support on offer:
Accessing existing WFGS activities - badminton, gym, football, walking group and cycling
Accessing other physical activity community projects in County Durham
Help to make health care professional appointments
Information and support around related health topics e.g. diet, nutrition, sleep
Other physical activity offerings available
We are always on the lookout for new and exciting activities for our members to take part in. Previous taster sessions have included chair aerobics, pilates, drumming and singing and trips out in our mini bus. We regularly have extra activities going on in the Centre and also day trips in our smart minibus.
Additionally, after you have attended social sessions or the WFGS activities for up to 10 weeks you have the opportunity to become involved in other Centre activities such as our New College Durham courses, evening and weekend groups and, you may even be interested in becoming a peer supporter - a ‘Waddy Helper’.
Running across all of the centre’s various activities we have a number of focus groups where we ask our members to give us their views; they are important and you are always welcome to join us.
Waddington Street Centre, ‘We’re about people’
Please click here to go to the Durham Mental Wellbeing Alliance Website.