Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Shelters may turn some away
Winter homeless shelters offering warm beds to the city’s most vulnerable may have to turn people away this year, bosses admit.
The Catching Lives project provides much-needed sanctuary to rough sleepers at church halls across Canterbury as temperatures plummet.
But with just 20 beds availa- ble and almost 50 people living on the city’s streets, only those most at risk are guaranteed to get a bed when the shelters open on Wednesday.
James Duff – chairman of trustees at the homelessness charity – said: “Sadly we will not be able to take them all and there is always a minority who choose not to engage with us.
“But we try to ensure those who are most at risk get a bed and a safer environment than they would otherwise have.”
Beds will be available at local church halls throughout the three- month winter shelter project, which is now in its seventh year.
It costs £50,000 to run, including the cost of trained staff, with a sizeable grant from a family trust helping the total raised so far hit £40,000.
The charity is appealing for help as it bids to find the remaining £10,000, but says non-monetary donations are also welcome.
Mr Duff said: “It is nice to be able to provide some treats for our clients in the shelters like chocolate and cakes.
“We always need sleeping bags and things like socks, underwear and scarves at this time of year, which we give out to those we cannot accommodate.”
Mr Duff says volunteers are also needed for the night shelters and the charity’s day centre in Station Road East.
Anyone who can help should call Catching Lives on 01227 464904 or visit www. catchinglives.org.
The city council operates its Severe Weather Emergency Pro- tocol when the weather forecast shows the temperature is set to drop to freezing or below for at least three consecutive days.
It involves working with organisations including Porchlight, Catching Lives and Street Pastors to react to reports of a rough sleeper by offering the person accommodation such as bed and breakfast or temporary housing.
But the authority says that it cannot forcefully intervene to provide an individual with support if they refuse help, which some rough sleepers do.