Catching Lives Latest News: June 2026

This is your June update from Catching Lives. With summer now well and truly here, many of us will be enjoying the sunshine. However, for people experiencing homelessness, extreme heat brings significant challenges and health risks.

Access to water, shelter and cool spaces are essential in the heatwave, and we remain committed to providing a welcoming space where people can come for support, refreshments and relief from the heat.

During this hot weather, we appreciate donations of refillable water bottles and sun cream to keep our clients safe in the heat. Summer socks and squash are also very welcome! Donations can be dropped off at our day centre every day between 9am-4.30pm (1pm on Wednesdays).

Thank you for supporting us this Small Charity Week!

Last week (22-29 June) was Small Charity Week, celebrating the crucial work that small charities like Catching Lives do for their local communities. As part of Small Charity Week, we took part in Big Give's match-funding campaign to help raise money for our day centre drop-in.

Thanks to everyone who donated, we raised over £10,000 towards our services! This is an incredible amount towards keeping our doors open 7 days a week for people who are homeless and insecurely housed.

We are very lucky to have been supported by our community to reach our target, and special thanks goes to our wonderful bookshop volunteers who did a sponsored walk and raised £1,000, the Forest of Blean Rotary Club who kindly donated £1,000, and the Benenden community who raised £1,175 at their Summer Fete. Thanks to our Champion funder, Postcode Society Trust, all of these donations, as well as the generous donations from individuals were doubled by their grant of £5,000!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the campaign, raised money, or helped to spread the word. We are truly grateful for your support.

Health Day at Catching Lives

Visitors at our Health Day with manager Graeme in the Catching Lives garden

This month, we hosted a Health Day at our day centre, with lots of our partner agencies coming in to offer specialist mental and physical health support for our clients. As well as having weekly visits from an NHS nurse and a Rough Sleeper Mental Health Practitioner, we host drop-ins for health agencies to support our clients with health-related needs.

This month's Health Day included support from our outreach nurse Theresa, Dentaid mobile dentists, the TB team, a Rough Sleeper Mental Health Practitioner, Sexual Health Nurse, Hep C Trust, Reach Out and Recover (ROAR) and a member of Canterbury City Council's Rough Sleeping team.

We host regular health days and drop-ins so that individuals have access to support services in one place, enabling immediate access to services so that clients are more likely to engage and experience better health as a result.

Thank you to all of our partner agencies involved.

We're Kent Charity Award finalists!

Staff and students in the Catching Lives garden

We're excited to announce that we've been shortlisted as a finalist for the Kent Charity Awards 2026 under the category 'Best Use of Volunteers'. We are very lucky to be supported by a team of dedicated volunteers who prepare and serve meals in our kitchen every day, as well as running our second-hand bookshop in the Crooked House on Palace Street.

Volunteers are at the heart of our service, so it's great to see this recognition for all the brilliant work they do. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in September.

If you're interested in volunteering, we have lots of opportunities this summer! If you're over 18 and have some free time, we are looking for kitchen volunteers to make and serve tasty meals for our clients. You'll work as part of a friendly team to make a difference in people's lives, in return for transferrable skills and valuable work experience for your CV!

To find out more about current opportunities, and how to apply to be a volunteer, click here.

Meet the Volunteer: Mandy

Kitchen volunteers Mandy (left) and Julie (right) preparing lunch

Our 'Meet the Volunteer' segment shines a spotlight on the amazing people at the heart of Catching Lives. This month, we meet Mandy, a regular kitchen volunteer.

How long have you been volunteering for?

2 years

Why choose Catching Lives?

Having recently moved to Canterbury, I was looking for a volunteering opportunity that would fit with being self-employed. I heard lots of positive things about Catching Lives and the range of support they offer people.

What are some joys you have experienced since starting with Catching Lives?

Meeting fellow volunteers, staff and service users, and feeling part of a community. Also the satisfaction of making delicious meals from whatever we find in the kitchen - like when you look in the fridge and think "what can I make with this...?" but on a much bigger scale!

What would you say to someone thinking about volunteering?

Come and give it a go - it's a warm and welcoming place.

Outside of Catching Lives, how do you like to spend your time? What are your passions/interests?

I love walking in the Kent countryside, the great range of cultural activities in Margate and Folkestone, and art in all its forms.

What is your line of work?

I'm a self-employed coach and facilitator, working with leaders in the health and social care sectors.

Thank you!

This month, we said goodbye and good luck to Emma, one of the Centre Managers, who is moving on to a new role next month. We thank her for all of her hard work supporting clients over the years at Catching Lives. She will be missed by everyone here.

Thank you to everybody who donated to our Small Charity Week campaign and helped us to raise an incredible £10,020, with special thanks to Postcode Lottery players and the Postcode Society Trust for donating the match funding of £5,000.

A big thank you to our wonderful partners at East Kent Spurs, who have completed the Three Peaks Challenge, as well as a 72-hole golf challenge this month to raise money for their local causes including Catching Lives.

Thank you to Morgan Sindall who dropped off bottled water at the centre to keep our clients hydrated during the heatwave. Thanks to students from Kent College who did a collection of hygiene products for people experiencing homelessness. Thank you to everybody who supported us with Waitrose's Green Token scheme and helped to raise £1,000 for Catching Lives!

If you're planning a summer fundraiser and would like to support Catching Lives, find out everything you need to know here.

Keep in touch

For regular updates, please keep an eye on our website, Facebook and Instagram for more updates until we write to you again in July. If you're not subscribed to our monthly newsletter, you can sign up here.