As Canterbury Community Shelter reaches the halfway point, we answer your most commonly asked questions about the project.
Where is the Shelter?
We are hosted by a different location each night of the week: St Mary Bredin, St Peter’s Methodist, Canterbury Umbrella Centre, Canterbury Cathedral, St Paul’s, St Dunstan’s, Canterbury Baptist Church and St Thomas of Canterbury all host the shelter. Shelter guests have access to Catching Lives’ day centre from 5pm and a hot evening meal is served by volunteers, before the evening team walk guests to the venue. At the venue, guests are welcomed by volunteers and our overnight team with hot drinks and snacks. Staff are awake to support guests through the night. Everyone is up, with bedding packed, around 7.30am for the venue to be handed back by 8am. Volunteer drivers transport bedding packs to the day centre, which opens at 9am for breakfast.
When will the Shelter close?
It’s a three-month service and the last night is 16 March.
How do people access the Shelter?
Access is always via the day centre. Shelter Coordinator, Isobel, meets people for assessments on weekday mornings. Once someone has been accepted, they contact us each morning to let us know if they need a place that night. We confirm the bed list by 2pm – if more than 15 people request a space, we have to prioritise based on vulnerability and risk.
How many people are using Canterbury Community Shelter?
36 individuals have been offered a space at CCS for one or more nights and, of those, 29 people have gone on to stay in the shelter. There have been 397 overnight stays so far.
On average, 11 out of 15 spaces are allocated each night. On 9 occasions, people have asked to stay and we have not had a space to offer them.
Why do some people register but not stay?
There are a range of different reasons. Sometimes people get an offer from friends, family or the council and no longer need the shelter that night. One of the shelter rules is that guests can’t be under the influence of drugs and alcohol, so someone might register but, by early evening, are too substance affected to take up their place. For some people, especially women, a communal, mixed sex shelter does not feel safe and so they might decide that sleeping rough is a safer option. Some venues have a side room that we can offer, but this isn’t always available.
What happens next for shelter guests?
We’re working with the council’s housing and rough sleeping teams, as well as housing providers such as Porchlight, to help people find more stable housing. At the halfway point, two people have moved on to stable accommodation, three people have moved on to other temporary accommodation, and further decisions are pending.
Why don't you share photos of the night shelter?
Guests prefer to lay out their own bedding when they arrive each night, in order to choose where to sleep and how to set up their bedding. So we haven't been able to take a photo as guests are using the room.
If you'd like to support our work, donate to the Catching Lives Winter Appeal via JustGiving. Thanks for your support.
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