Mentors needed to settle homeless

A mentoring project is being launched by a charity in Canterbury in a bid to reduce homelessness in the city.

More than 40 people are thought to be sleeping rough and any one time. But even when found accommodation, they can end up on the streets again through lack of support.

Catching Lives, which operates the day centre in Station Road East, says its clients often struggle to make the transition.

It now wants to recruit a team of volunteers to help mentor those struggling to make the adjustment in their lives.

The scheme is being co-ordinated by Sally Caless, who said: “At our day centre we seek to lessen the appalling effects of rough sleeping by providing a number of interventions, including advocacy with housing agencies, to help people get accommodation.

“But once housed, our clients often need support, assistance and advice to help them to move on to the next stage of their lives and the demands of a new tenancy can be overwhelming.

Life can suddenly become very lonely and monotonous.

“Without support, many clients lose their accommodation and revert back to a life on the streets. But mentoring can make an enormous difference.

“Our project will provide help and advice for clients in Canterbury and east Kent for a minimum of six months to assist them in making a successful transition into independent living.”

Catching Lives wants to recruit volunteer mentors from a wide range of backgrounds who will work in pairs.

Their aim will be to build positive relationships with clients in order to reduce their social isolation, boost their confidence and improve health and wellbeing.

They will also help clients with budgeting for things like utility bills, sourcing funds for furniture and appliances and finding education and training opportunities.

For more information, contact Sally at mentoring@catchinglives.org.

Some struggle with the transition from homeless to finding a home