“Connecting with people here means everything to me”: inside the Sunshine Recovery Café
This Stress Awareness Month, we’re spotlighting a service that has been a lifeline for many — the Sunshine Recovery Café.
The Recovery Café is a welcoming place for anyone in mental health crisis, offering calm, compassionate support. If you live in Merton, Kingston, Sutton, Richmond, or Wandsworth, you’re welcome to visit the café, whether that’s through a GP, NHS 111, self-referral, or just by walking in.
We caught up with the team to learn more about the amazing work they’re doing to help people feel supported, regain confidence, and reconnect with their community.
Support for young people in crisis
The Recovery Café offers a dedicated young people’s service for 18–25-year-olds, designed and delivered by peers with lived experience. It’s a relaxed, welcoming space offering various groups such as non-contact boxing, one-to-one assessments, and open conversations. The service helps build confidence, connection, and a sense of community which is designed “for young people, by young people.”
The café also offers tailored support around neurodiversity, addiction, and suicide prevention, ensuring that anyone who walks through the door feels safe, understood, and supported. This commitment extends to a dedicated veterans’ service, led by someone with military experience, providing specialist help for those living with PTSD or adjusting to civilian life. Together, these services reflect the café’s inclusive, person-centred approach, meeting people where they are and helping them take meaningful steps forward.
Meaningful moments
For Recovery Café manager, Mary, the most rewarding part of her work is watching people gradually rebuild their lives and rediscover their confidence. “It’s amazing to see someone who came in feeling completely lost start to believe in themselves again,” she shares. “We’ve supported young people who’ve gone back to university and others who’ve found the confidence to take their first steps back into work or volunteering. Seeing them re-engage with life and the community is incredibly uplifting, it’s why we’re here.”
As Young Person’s Support Worker and Neurodiversity Specialist, Rachel puts it: “It’s more than a job—it’s family.”
Finding strength in support
One service user was kind enough to share their experience of the Recovery Café, describing the impact it’s had during a difficult time: “I come for the art class, but I’ve also had support with my PIP and housing when my benefits were stopped. I’d recommend the service to anyone. It really helps you feel part of the community. Never be afraid to ask for help, it’s not a weakness, it’s a strength.”
Another service user described the Recovery Café as a true haven, and a place where they feel understood and accepted. “Coming here and connecting with people who have lived experience, people you can really relate to, is everything to me.”
Support beyond the café
The Recovery Café team provides personalised signposting to local support services based on each person’s needs. This might include GPs, Citizens Advice, the DFN Project, Recovery College, or organisations like the Salvation Army and Street Link for those facing homelessness.
The Recovery Café also works closely with services like the Wandsworth Community Kitchen, to help provide food on Thursdays—offering not just a meal, but a warm, welcoming space for connection and support.
“If you’re struggling, don’t hesitate. Come in and talk, our doors are open, and the Café is a safe space where you’ll be listened to and supported.”
For more information on mental health support options click here.
