What is Catching Lives?
An independent charity, our aim is to catch the lives of homeless vulnerably housed people in Canterbury who have, for many reasons, fallen through the gaps in society and who feel they have nowhere else to turn. We provide them not only with help but with solutions.
Catching Lives works to help end the harm and damage caused to individuals, families and the community by homeless rough sleeping and insecure housing.
Catching Lives offers immediate respite plus basic human needs from its Canterbury Open Centre, located by Canterbury East Station. From here the charity works with the daily service users in tackling their issues or quickly finding access to accommodation and putting an end to their street living.
The majority of people who visit the Open Centre are from the local area, the vast majority of who are homeless. Catching Lives will immediately work to get them safely housed in designated accommodation as soon as possible.
Every person who seeks help from Catching Lives has a different and often tragic story and looking for helping hands, where others turn them away. Although we provide daily human needs such as food, sanitation and clothing, our aim is to help them get back to society and towards a new beginning.
Catching Lives works closely with partner organisations, other support charities or through specialist case workers within the centre. The centre also offers access to medical and dental services – care which is often impossible for the visitors to access anywhere else.
As an independent charity we are able to meet very real needs which are often not catered for by national agencies. Our ability to help people immediately and assess their issues and needs is the major factor behind our success.
Catching Lives also works within the community to educate and raise awareness of the issues and barriers faced by the people we help.
As a charity we rely on donations, volunteers and fundraising from within the local community to help us make a difference and improve not just the lives of the visitors we see but the wider community through reduced rough sleeping, crime and anti-social behaviour.