The 50+ Crowd is a weekly social group for people aged over 50 with past or current problematic alcohol or drug use, to meet, chat and have the opportunity to take part in different activities. You can also ask to speak to staff 1-to-1, to discuss anything confidentially and refer yourself onto a range of services we offer.
My confidence stated growing just by being around people of my age and them listening to me
Each week we run optional activities like shared reading, creative writing, gardening, arts and crafts. We are currently working with The Reader, a national charity who want to “bring about a reading revolution”. They visit the 50+ Crowd twice a month with different stories, poems and literature to read and talk about together. No preparation necessary.
Wednesdays 4:30 – 6:30pm
BDP | Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square, BS2 8PE https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d9943.482488752024!2d-2.5880472!3d51.4605318!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x5e1a1f9ba3aa6012!2sBDP%20at%20Brunswick%20Court!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1588857662108!5m2!1sen!2suk
The 50+ Crowd is part of BDP’s Creative Communities. Click below to get in contact or find out about more opportunities.
Pioneering Service & Legacy
We are dedicated in ensuring that our services are engaging and relevant for older people to access.
We launched the 50+ Crowd in 2009, as the only drug and alcohol service in the UK specifically targeting the needs of older people. Since it’s launch it has grown from strength-to-strength and has been praised as a national example of how to support older people in a report published by Drug Scope and The Recovery Partnership: ‘It’s About Time – Tackling Substance Misuse in Older People‘.
In 2013, we were awarded funding from the Department of Health’s Innovation Excellence and Strategic Development Fund (IESD) to launch the pioneering Older People’s Service (2013 – 2016). Since then we’ve used the skills and knowledge gained from this three year project to ensure all our adults services are providing people over 50 with high quality support.
More recently we have been training people over 50, who have past or present problematic substance use, to become our 50+ Support Champions. Funded by Bristol Ageing Better (BAB), our Champions have been building a network of support available across our services.
