Kent County Council ending homelessness support

The council will be decommissioning its Kent Homeless Connect service, delivered by Porchlight and other organisations, in September 2022.

Kent Homeless Connect provides specialist housing-related care and support for some of the most vulnerable people in society. For many, it’s the only lifeline they have left.

With the pandemic and cost of living crisis pushing Kent residents to breaking point, it’s a service that is needed more than ever.

We know Kent County Council faces some very difficult decisions to balance its budget, but here at Porchlight we’re seeing a rise in the number of people with very complex support needs who need specialist homelessness provision.

Kent County Council has agreed to provide the Kent Homeless Connect service with transition funding until 31 March 2024 to enable an alternative service to be developed. This transition funding is vital if we’re going to manage our responsibilities to the service and the people who depend on it.

We’re relieved that KCC is taking steps to support our clients as we secure other sources of funding and work towards our own vision for homelessness services. This currently includes working with partner organisations and local councils to find ways to keep safety nets in place for vulnerable people in Kent.

But we know that local councils could also be facing homelessness funding cuts from central government – funding for programmes including the Rough Sleeper Initiative and the Next Steps Accommodation Programme has not been guaranteed long-term. And this funding can only do so much when wider factors such as the cost of living crisis, cuts to housing benefit and a shortage of social housing mean more people are pushed towards homelessness.

Central government, which funds Kent County Council, has to understand that homelessness services need long-term, sustainable funding if we’re going to meet this growing need. We need more homelessness support, not less.

We’re launching an emergency fundraising appeal to help us keep the door open for homeless people in Kent. You can read more about it here.