What is Catching Lives?
Catching Lives is an independent charity aimed at supporting the rough sleepers, homeless and vulnerably housed in Canterbury and East Kent; those who have, for many reasons, fallen through the gaps in society and feel they have nowhere else to turn.
Our vision is of a society where all are included and all, no matter how disadvantaged, can make a contribution. Catching Lives works towards ending the harm caused to individuals, families and the community, by homelessness, rough sleeping and insecure housing. We do this by offering immediate respite at our project in Canterbury: the Canterbury Open Centre. In addition to this, we work with our clients to help them to tackle any issues that they may have, get access to suitable accommodation and find the motivation to take steps towards personal recovery and independent living.
Our daycentre (Station Road East, Canterbury) is open 9-2pm 7 days a week for homeless clients.
PLEASE NOTE we are closed 9-10am on Wednesdays but breakfast will still be available to eat in our garden until we open at 10am.
We provide services such as:
- Food (Breakfast and a freshly prepared lunch)
- Laundry- Clients are responsible for doing their own laundry using our onsite washing machines, and dryers. We supply the detergent
- Clothes bank (access to a supply of donated clothes)
- Toilets and Showers (we supply a variety of toiletries and clean towels)
- Storage (rough sleepers have access to a small area wherein they can store belongings that they can’t carry with them; or are particularly personally valuable).
- Use of centre as a Postal Address (essential for claiming benefits, looking for work, or registering with a GP).
- Telephone, Computer, and internet access
- Mental Health Outreach Service (2 onsite workers who can support clients)
- Nurse and podiatrist drop-in (and help with registering with a local GP)
- Forward Trust drop-in (support for clients who are experiencing drug or alcohol misuse) and Needle Exchange
- Advocacy and Advice, for example on homelessness, housing options and accessing work, training or welfare Benefits
- Signposting to all manner of specialist agencies such as organisations supporting victims of domestic abuse or those who have served in the armed forces
We also provide a range of activities such as arts and gardening. For more information please visit our activities page here