Catching Lives
Catching Lives' Open Centre provides services such as meals, showers, laundry, clothing and a postal address to its clients. The staff and volunteers work with them to address issues they may have; get access to suitable accommodation, and find the motivation to take steps towards independent living.
The charity operates a winter night shelter in conjunction with local churches. 2016–2017 was its seventh season. The project opens church halls for Canterbury rough sleepers. Volunteers transport bedding, cook meals and welcome those who stay.
History
Name
Catching Lives began as Canterbury Open Christmas; before becoming Canterbury Open Centre, and then the Scrine Foundation after founders Joan Scrine MBE and her husband Rev Ralph Scrine
On 1 July 2010 the charity adopted its present name. It is a Registered Charity, number 1014868, and Limited Company number 2719436.
Evolution
The original Canterbury Open Centre provided hostel space for the homeless in Canterbury. In 2002 it absorbed the Kent Literacy Scheme; in 2004 the Canterbury Youth Project's homelessness advice service for young people, and in 2005 the Finding Your Feet scheme for asylum seekers.
The foundation piloted alcohol rehabilitation techniques for homeless people and unusually, job training. A resettlement team housed clients and assisted new tenants seeking long term homes. By 2007 it operated 146 hostel spaces and had 60 full-time staff.
In 2009, the loss of contracts worth nearly £600,000 per year from Kent County Council, who claimed quality standards were not being met, caused a funding crisis. The foundation's trustees denied the allegations but had to give all 66 staff notice of redundancy.
On 31 October 2009 the Scrine Foundation's night shelter closed after 14 years. A month later it re-opened as a day centre.
Catching Lives Bookshop
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Catching Lives Bookshop is a volunteer run bookshop that helps to fund the charity. It operates from The Crooked House, also known as Sir John Boy's House or the Old Dutch House, a quirky, skewed 17th century, double jettied, half-timbered building at the end of Palace Street, opposite The Kings School. The shop is one of the most photographed buildings in Canterbury and stocks fiction and non-fiction books, as well as CDs, vinyl and DVDs.
See also
References
- ^ "Catching Lives, registered charity no. 1014868". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "Info Pack" (PDF). Catching Lives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ "Winter Shelter". Catching Lives. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Little, Matthew (10 January 2007). "Collaborators: Mergers save Kent care charities". Third Sector. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ Warren, Gerry (23 July 2009), "Funding crisis for Canterbury's homeless charity, the Scrine Foundation", Kentish Gazette, archived from the original on 16 June 2012, retrieved 2 September 2010
- ^ "Homelessness rise concerns charities", Yourcanterbury, 12 August 2010, retrieved 2 September 2010
- ^ "Catching Lives Bookshop". Catching Lives. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Sir John Boy's House". Historic Canterbury. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
Further reading
- Scrine, Ralph (2004). Every Day of the Year: A History of Canterbury Open Centre. Scrine Foundation.
