Welcoming the community at Open House

On 12th of September, we once again opened our doors to the community as part of London’s Open House festival.

We look forward to this event every year as it’s a wonderful opportunity to welcome locals and visitors into our historic house and share our story, history and the important work we do. From explaining how our founder, Dr Faith Spicer, radically set up Brandon Centre back in 1969 to the origins of our Kentish Town building.

Throughout the day, we invited people to take a tour of our house and garden before enjoying a cup of tea in our kitchen, where our staff and trustees were on hand to chat, answer questions and share a bit of information about the services that we offer young people.

We welcomed and met so many lovely visitors, whether it was our neighbours from the local area, professionals who wanted to learn more about us, or those who were simply curious as they walked past our doors.

For us, these conversations are an important part of Open House. It gives others the chance to see behind the scenes and meet the team, but also for us to hear people’s own memories and connections with Brandon Centre.

One particularly lovely moment came when a woman walking past recognised the building and mentioned how she used to come to us as a teenager! Hearing from someone who has used our services and was delighted to see that we’re still here, continuing that work, was incredibly meaningful.

We’re very proud to be a part of the local community and grateful to everyone who took the time to visit us this year. Thank you to those who came through our doors, shared their memories, asked questions and enjoyed a cup of tea with us. We hope to see you next year!