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- Porchlight and Carr-Gomm Service Users with staff
National allotment week runs from the 11-17 August and service user volunteers from charities Porchlight and Carr-Gomm have been working jointly on an allotment project in Thanet to improve the community and surroundings.
Since a cultivation notice was issued by Thanet District Council the volunteers have given up several hours a week for the past month to clear the site and turn it in to a usable allotment.
The site on Canterbury Road East, opposite Coniston Avenue, Ramsgate has had temporary toilet facilities donated by Pfizer and the volunteers hope more permanent facilities will eventually be provided by the council.
Kay Eastoe, Porchlight Service Manager at the King Street hostel, is overjoyed, “Our service users are some of the most vulnerable people in Kent and to see them putting something back in to Thanet to improve the community for all residents is wonderful. They have all worked extremely hard and should be proud of their efforts and commitment.”
Porchlight is one of the foremost charities working across Kent to support vulnerable people and prevent homelessness.
Over the past ten years the charity has expanded its services from Canterbury to surrounding areas in East Kent, with services focused in Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Ashford.
In the past couple of years, Porchlight has further grown to cover the whole of Kent after being awarded a contract by Kent Supporting people to run its outreach service across the county.
Carr-Gomm is a national charity providing a range of services and support such as housing for people with learning disabilities, self-contained flats and floating support services for women escaping domestic violence.
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Notes to the Editor:
1. Porchlight is an independent local charity that works to support single, vulnerable homeless people or those at risk of homelessness. It was established in 1974 as Canterbury Cyrenians and works throughout Kent.
2. Porchlight has accommodation based projects in Canterbury, Dover, Ashford and Ramsgate. The outreach team works with street homeless people as well as supporting former homeless people in their own homes, to prevent them returning to street life. Other services support people in their own homes who are at risk of becoming homeless.
3. In 2006-7 Porchlight helped over 1,500 vulnerable people. Porchlight projects include:
Kent Outreach: Our street outreach team work across Kent including working within prisons to help offenders who will be released from prison homeless. Young Persons Services: This includes a direct access hostel, longer stay hostel and shared house, providing support for a number of years, until each individual is ready to live independently.
Mental Health:
We run the only housing project in Kent specifically for people with enduring mental ill-health. We also have a young persons’ mental health service that enables young homeless people with mental health problems to better access the health services they need.
General Accommodation:
We have hostels in Canterbury, Dover, Ashford and Ramsgate. They range in the levels of support provided from high support needs with staff available 24hrs a day, to medium support with staff available on a 9-5pm basis.
Floating Support:
This is a preventative service that provides support to vulnerable people in their own home who are at risk of becoming homeless. Many of these clients have been through the hostel system and are almost ready to live independently but just need a little support every now and again.
Training and Service User Involvement:
We have a team that works with people accessing any of our services and helps them develop their skills and education. We provide tailored training and encourage people to get involved in the running and improvement of their project, or volunteer on a more formal level in the organisation. Porchlight is committed to involving our service users throughout all the activities of the charity. They are actively encouraged to become involved in education, employment, volunteering and service user involvement opportunities.
For more information contact media centre.
