Past events & projects (draft page)

We purchased 25 Wolsey Mews in December 2009 to be our new larger centre.  The building was very run-down and needed extensive refurbishment, fundraising and consultations with users, volunteers,  neighbours and friends of the Centre. We set  up a development working group.

Our website was set up to be a contact point for supporters, donors and members of the public. However, our work had began 35 years ago in a squat in Euston...

Read our story and watch our film here!

The state of 25 Wolsey Mews, our future larger women’s centre when we completed purchase in December 2009. The building, a former woodworking workshop in the 1800s a doll’s factory, was very run down! We set up a development working group to organise the refurbishment.

Throughout the summer and autumn we widely publicised our plans, inviting comments and involvement from local communities through mailings, leafleting, local press coverage, and fundraising events at the premises (before renovation) which were attended by 300 local individuals and families.

Local users and small businesses told us that there is no comparable service in the community.  A number of people offered their time and skills to fundraising and leaflets.

Magic & Burlesque Cabaret. Talented artists and performers entertained with comedy, dance, juggling and magic.  They raised £923 and had us roaring with laughter. By the end of the year, our appeal for funds and grant-making efforts to refurbish, equip and run our new Centre had raised £212,000.

On- and off-site consultations with volunteers, user groups, neighbours and friends of the Centre helped us make a range of decisions from the kind of flooring to positioning of storage.  There was particular discussion around the lift, as the standard models on offer needed adaptations to suit more users with disabilities.

Inspecting the building works with Brian Power Building Services.  Some items such as painting and decoration were not in  the contract to keep costs down, and because so many people were coming forward to offer their time and skills, keen to make their mark on the final building!

Valentine raffle fundraiser for the new Centre Building Fund and to keep the community informed of developments.

Black History Month was marked with an evening event – From Carnegie Hall & the Edinburgh Fringe to Crossroads.  Award-winning writer, actor and baritone Tayo Aluko performed ‘From Black Africa to the White House’. Via songs, Jewish stories, a lemon and a great comic touch, Naomi Paul presented a distinctive take on our times in ‘Reshape While Damp’.

The All African Women’s group of asylum seeking women finally have the space to meet comfortably. The group has grown to include women from Eastern Europe, Iran, Latin America and other countries. Up to 90 women participate in self-help meetings, training workshops (below) and volunteer sessions to discuss their cases, offer mutual support and advice, learn how to help others with their cases, prepare for appeals, etc.

Party to launch the new Centre, to thank and welcome friends, funders, volunteers and other supporters to our new premises. A delicious spread was provided by local specialist deli, Harry’s Food Hall. Wonderful performers entertained us with songs, mime and dance music. Deaf comedian Caro Sparks (photo) had us all in stitches.

The 'painting team' of volunteers put the finishing touches on the new Centre. Renovation was completed in March 2012.  Extensive adaptations made the Centre accessible to people with disabilities. Solar panels and other energy efficient measures helped make it environmentally sustainable. A sheltered cobble-stone courtyard, now full of donated flowers, herbs and shrubs in pots provides a calm outdoor space.

Soho Santas at the French House Pub, Soho, raised £1,005.70 and had a wonderful time doing so!

‘Women Together Speak Up – Making Community, Tackling Problems’ Women have a lot to say and sometimes are not shy about saying it! Over 80 women and some men crowded into the Women’s Centre for our event aimed at “giving a voice to those women whose needs are most likely to be neglected, especially in these hard times”.

Workshop at Parliament Hill School during Black History Month with members of the All African Women’s Group based at the Centre.

Stalls for our questionnaire, on Kentish Town High Road always draw in a crowd.

The Centre provides a base for self-help organisations and meeting space for community groups and activities such as the breastfeeding consultants above.

Our Kids Xmas Party was a hit again with children and their carers.  Over 30 local children under 10 and their families crowded in to watch Captain Fantastic’s interactive DJ extravaganza.

Crossroads Children's playgroup runs fortnightly for children under five. Iin half-term children up to 10 join in enabling their mums to participate in asylum seekers' self-help sessions at the Centre.

The story of the Crossroads Women’s Centre – a young people’s film and photography project. This grew out of Made Possible by Squatting, an exhibition shown in September 2013, for which a young woman artist had made a beautiful pop-up book on the history of our different centres.  They followed this up by recruiting and training a small group of young people aged 14 to 25 to make a film about the Centre.