Brentwood Partners

Brave Parents provides self care opportunities to parents who have children with complex medical needs*.

We recognise that many of these parents forget to care for themselves. They work so hard to keep their child well that their own needs always come second.

However, over time this can have an affect on the mental health of the caregivers and whole family unit.

We create opportunities for Parent Carers to have some well needed ‘you’ time to support their mental health and well-being.

From pamper ‘… for you’ and Hospital Boxes to in person events and local meets, we hope to encourage self care and highlight that it is essential, especially through hard times.

*’Complex medical needs’ refers to children who have been diagnosed by a medical professional, with an illness, disability or sensory impairment (sight and/or hearing impairment) that requires substantial daily support from a Parent Carer.

Brave Parents - Registered Charity No. 1204544

Brentwood CVS is a local independent infrastructure organisation dedicated to supporting voluntary and community action in our community. At Brentwood CVS, we're all about fostering connections, providing guidance, and empowering the voluntary and community sector to thrive for the benefit of local people and communities.

Our Volunteer Centre supports people to get involved in community action. In addition to making a difference in our community, volunteering has been shown to help combat stress, anxiety and depression. Volunteering has something for everyone!

Learn new skills
Have fun
Get vocational experience
Meet new people
Increase confidence
Make a difference!

Testimonial from a Brentwood Volunteer
“I see volunteering as a really important part of my life. Giving your time to something you enjoy doing is the greatest thing ever. And still leaves you feeling proud of contributing to something where you are needed. I love it!”

Our dedicated Health & Wellbeing Hub at Merrymeade House provides a range of services and programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life with our warm hub, wellbeing walks and winter warmth initiatives to help people feel well and connected to their communities.

We’re here to help!

Our service is free, confidential and open to everyone in the community.  We can help with many issues, including:

• Benefits
• Debt problems
• Employment
• Housing
• Family and relationship issues
• Neighbourhood disputes
• Education and healthcare
• Consumer rights

We will give you the facts and possible outcomes.  That way you can make the decision that’s right for you.  If needed, we can also offer practical support such as help with form filling, writing letters or negotiating with third parties. Sometimes we might direct you to a different organisation that is better placed to help.

We're here for everyone.

Providing free, confidential and impartial advice that people need for the problems they face and to improve their lives.  We have experience in providing non-medical advice to people who suffer from mental health issues including benefits, debt, employment, housing, relationship advice.

The Daily Bread Café is open 3 days a week, Tues, Wed & Fri with various inclusive clubs and activities for all to enjoy. Thursday is our Little Fishes Group which is for parents and carers of pre-school age children.

The café aims to help reduce social isolation, improve mental well-being, and give meaningful activities to our visitors, we also have a pay it forward board.

The Daily Bread Food Hub provide free bags of shopping which can include fruit, vegetables, fresh and frozen food and also store cupboard essentials. Our team of volunteers collect from over 200 supermarkets each week. This prevents tonnes of food waste from going into landfill. The Food Hub is open 5 mornings a week.

Food Hub Open: Tues to Fri 10-12 & Sat 9.30-11.30 .

We provide clients and their carers with support at home and in the community. Encouraging clients to develop life skills, engage in social activities and build their self esteem and confidence, allowing carers time to pursue their own interests or simply time to relax.

Our support is person centered, setting achievable goals with the person we support, working in partnership with local agencies to achieve the best outcomes.

We support clients with the following needs: mental health (depression & anxiety), dementia, social isolation, neurodiversity, brain injury and stroke survivors.

Essex Respite & Care Association (ERCA) provides support covering the following activities: 

• Prompt with self-care tasks.
• Support to achieve personal goals.
• Support to have your voice heard.
• Company and conversations.
• Stimulation of memory.
• Sitting service.
• Support with housework and laundry.
• Meal planning and preparation.
• Shopping.
• Attending appointments.
• Prescription collection.
• Visits to restaurants and cafes.
• Attending plays, cinema, concerts, social activities.
• Walking, yoga, swimming and cycling.

We provide Essex residents (excluding Southend-On-Sea and Thurrock) with access to health checks; stop smoking services; weight management courses; and emotional health and wellbeing support. All of our services are free.

Brentwood Foodbank is open on :-

Tuesdays & Wednesday 10am - 1pm
Doddinghurst Road Community Church
56-60 Doddinghurst Road
CM15 9EH

Friday 10am - 1pm
Brentwood Baptist Church
91 Kings Road
Brentwood
CM14 4DR

Referrals may be obtained from several service in the community - please contact us for further details.

Food can be dropped off at Doddibghurst Road Community Church during the above times or at any of the points listed on our website.

We are a collaborative charity run by volunteers who provide emergency food and other essential items to those in crisis across the whole of the Borough of Brentwood.

When collecting a parcel you will be welcomed with a cup of tea or coffee, plus there will be people there to chat to about signposting to other agencies.

Brentwood Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks.

We’re more than just a café; we’re a charity with a vision.

At Human Kind, we trust in the inherent kindness and generosity of people, allowing individuals to express the qualities in their own way, knowing the ripple effect of their actions can and will be far reaching.
The vision and purpose of our charity café is to create a world where all experience a lasting sense of belonging, providing safe, welcoming spaces where we support everyone in connecting, sharing, and experiencing kindness.

Our commitment to connecting the Billericay community extends beyond serving great, freshly sourced vegetarian and vegan food.
We offer:
Activities for all age groups, including Mum, baby & bump mornings, after school activities, crafting
sessions and supper clubs.
A “human library” of experts from local organisations, who are able to offer advice, from Mental Health issues, benefits advice, technology help.
Sessions run specifically for those living with long term health conditions such as living with dementia, and their carers.

Come and explore our space, meet new people, and share experience

Kooth.com is commissioned to provide an online wellbeing platform which along with text based counselling also includes helpful articles, forums, activity centre, daily journal and messaging. We provide British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy accredited services and Kooth is available to young people aged 11-18 in Essex. 

The service provides a free and non-judgemental place for children and young people to connect with others and know they are not alone. They have instant access to self-help materials, fully moderated discussion forums and tools such as online journals and goal trackers. They can also contribute written pieces of work reflecting their own experiences, as well as accessing drop-in or booked text-based counselling sessions with professional counsellors.

These are online services that offer anonymised support via online counsellors, available 365 days a year, 12pm -10pm on weekdays and 6pm-10pm on weekends.