Penny Wade was a leading light in the natural childbirth movement of the 1950s who later helped to set up a shelter for the homeless that came to be seen as a model for similar projects.

Wade was a founder member of what became the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and she did much to promote natural childbirth methods and breastfeeding and to discourage the overuse of medical intervention.

She later established the Vineyard Project, a drop-in centre for people with mental health problems, and went on to found a ground-breaking hostel for the homeless in Richmond, Surrey, that provided counselling as well as drug, alcohol and mental rehabilitation.

Wade’s dedication to the needs of the disadvantaged was grounded in her own childhood experiences in India and Burma, where she witnessed social injustice and even atrocities. She was born Penelope Ladds in 1930, the oldest child of a professional army officer. She spent most of her formative years in India, but when war threatened in 1938 the family moved to Burma. In 1941 alarm deepened over the threat of Japanese invasion, and the young Wade witnessed the killing of many people. The Japanese invaded in 1942, and the family escaped by train and ship to England. Her father became seriously ill during the lengthy retreat from lower to upper Burma and eventually received treatment in South Africa. During her many weeks in Durban Wade was appalled by the cruelties of the apartheid system, and the memory of this would later motivate her in her own crusading social work in London.

She began her career as a nurse in 1950, training at St George’s Hospital in London. In 1955 she became a founder member of the Natural Childbirth Association — later the the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). Her interest was sparked by the relaxation and breathing techniques she had learnt while living in Denmark during the pregnancy of her first child.

In the 1950s pregnancy and childbirth came largely under the supervision of the medical profession. The NCT promoted greater active involvement of mothers and fathers, encouraged breastfeeding, discouraged medical intervention where not strictly necessary and set training and assessment standards for professionals. Wade sat on the NCT’s technical committee and teachers’ panel and trained in the methodology.

She was one of the first to step out independently and to win the confidence of a sceptical medical profession. She founded Relaxation for Living and educated NHS professionals in antenatal and health education. Sheila Kitzinger, a renowned author in the field with whom Wade worked, remembered her as “dedicated to the NCT, deeply involved in her ante-natal teaching. A lovely colleague, modest, patient and extremely gentle.”

Wade’s NCT work prompted her to develop accommodation for single mothers and she joined the national homeless charities Shelter and later the Carr Gomm Society. In 1976 she created a drop-in centre in Richmond — The Vineyard Project — for those with mental health problems, those on probation, or lonely. The centre helped more than 100 people a day, and came to be regarded as a model of its kind. In 1985, after the deaths of two Vineyard clients who had been sleeping rough, Wade undertook a statistical survey, which demonstrated an alarming number of rough sleepers.

Despite considerable difficulties she set up Spear (single person’s emergency accommodation in Richmond). It started as a pilot 24-bed night-shelter scheme and developed into a dedicated 12-bed hostel for the homeless plus a temporary lodging scheme and a halfway hostel for those suffering from emotional problems. Spear also provided ancillary services, such as counselling on drugs and alcohol and mental rehabilitation plus preventive work. It too became an exemplar, and in 2001 Lord Falconer of Thoroton, then Minister for Housing, Planning and Regeneration, visited the scheme.

In retirement Wade pursued her passion for art but she remained in demand and in 1995 she became a trustee of a grant-giving trust with an estate of affordable housing. She served as chairman of the Homelessness Forum, a statutory/voluntary organisation. She also worked for asylum-seekers and refugees, later joining the steering committee of Kingston Refugee Network to establish cross-borough resources, and took an active role in the National Association of Women. She remained an active member of the Labour Party.

Over the years colleagues twice tried to nominate her for an honour, but in her modesty she declined, claiming to have done nothing out of the ordinary. The legacy of her contribution to community welfare belies this.

Wade is survived by her husband, Robin, one son and two daughters.

Penny Wade, social activist, was born on March 16, 1930. She died on July 22, 2008, aged 78