At North Herts & Stevenage Centre for Voluntary Services, we are delighted to celebrate the 40th birthday of The Sadie Centre.

Originally established in 1984 by Roberta Meldrum as the Letchworth Centre for Homeopathy and Alternative Medicine, the charity has undergone significant growth and transformation since its launch in a Letchworth dining room.

The centre relocated to its current home at the renovated Rosehill Hospital on Hitchin Road in 1988. Since then, as the Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living, it has developed into a key hub for wellness and holistic therapies.

The 1990s marked a major shift in the perception of holistic therapies, which had previously been viewed with scepticism.

Acupuncture, homeopathy, reflexology, and similar treatments began to gain recognition as complementary therapies.

The Sadie Centre was instrumental in promoting this change, playing a pioneering role in bringing these therapies into the mainstream. Its collaborations with the NHS, local councils, schools, and community groups have further cemented its influence in the health and wellness sector.

Today, The Sadie Centre offers a broad range of group based and 1:1 complementary approaches, including acupuncture, reflexology, hypnotherapy, massage, yoga, Pilates, and T'ai Chi.

Focused on promoting health and preventing illness, the centre provides a wide variety of initiatives to cater to the diverse needs of the community, such as pregnancy yoga, children’s counselling, menopause interventions, NHS coaching, and activities for older adults.

Since 2015, the centre has been home to the Nourish Wholefood Café and Enchanted Garden Events, which hosts weddings on-site.

In 2016, the centre introduced ‘Positive Movement’, a physical activity programme designed for older adults and people with mobility challenges.

This award-winning initiative, commissioned across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, is available free of charge, both online and in various local venues.

The centre’s extensive counselling service is a vital resource for the local community, offering support for issues like anxiety, depression, trauma, and bereavement.

Counselling options include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and integrative counselling, with a low-cost arm to ensure accessibility for all.

The Sadie Centre also runs ‘Growing People’, a therapeutic horticulture initiative that provides social and horticultural therapy to reduce stress and isolation, increase physical activity, and boost confidence.

This year, with CVS support, the centre secured funding from Assura Insurance for a wellbeing project in partnership with the NHS, Icknield Primary Care Network.

From its modest beginnings, The Sadie Centre has grown into a vital, award-winning wellness hub, positively impacting thousands of lives.

To mark its 40th birthday, the centre is hosting a celebration event this Saturday from 2–5pm, offering free treatments, health talks, refreshments, and children’s activities.

Full details at www.sadiecentre.org. All are welcome!