Deep freeze sees emergency opening of homeless shelter

Exclusive ‘There are always some who because of their own issues, or not feeling comfortable in groups, choose to stay outside’

A day centre for the homeless has been opened overnight in an emergency effort to bring people in out of the cold.

With temperatures tumbling to as low as minus-six degrees, the city council has provided funding to temporarily extend the opening hours of the Catching Lives building in Station Road East.

The move comes as national figures this week revealed Canterbury to have the most homeless people in Kent, more than doubling to 50 in the last four years.

A winter night shelter operated by Catching Lives has gone some way to providing warmth to rough sleepers, but has been running at full capacity with just 20 spaces available across a number of church halls.

Its day centre – which typically closes at 2pm – has been opened overnight after the council activated its severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) – triggered when the temperature is expected to drop below freezing for three consecutive nights.

But despite the extra beds, there are still some people sleeping rough in the city, with the temporary shelter not available when the temperature rises.

Catching Lives manager, Terry Gore, says the charity was well-prepared for the cold weather and had been discussing opening its day centre at night with the city council before the winter freeze set in.

“It’s been pretty difficult but we have been taking in as many people as possible,” he said.

“But there are always some who because of their own issues, or not feeling comfortable in groups, choose to stay outside.

“Of course, we still work with them and outreach teams from Porchlight and street pastors to make sure they are OK.”

Porchlight spokesman Chris Thomas says it provides homeless people with sleeping bags and warm garments, and attempts to find accommodation where possible.

“Winter can be deadly if you are homeless,” he said.

“Porchlight’s street teams are there to help homeless people into suitable accommodation and find the support for any problems they are facing.”

Council spokesman Rob Davies said: “SWEP has been in place since January 5, but with milder temperatures forecast, it is anticipated that will end later this week.

“We have funded an additional 20 bed spaces through Catching Lives on a nightly basis. This is on top of the winter shelter, which we have also contributed to.

“Since SWEP has been in place, a total of 35 people have registered and been given shelter.

“We will be meeting with Catching Lives following the end of the current SWEP to review the data, so that we can put together a profile of who was using the service and what their needs were. This will help us identify future provision.”

Anyone who can donate fresh vegetables or sleeping bags to Catching Lives should call 01227 464904 or pop into the day centre.

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Terry Gore at the Catching Lives Day Centre in Station Road East; the number of city homeless has more than doubled in four years