Catching Lives

Last updated

Catching Lives
Founders
  • Joan Scrine MBE
  • Rev Ralph Scrine
Type Charity
Registration no.1014868 [1]
Location
Revenue (2021)
£450,000 [1]
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Formerly called
  • Canterbury Open Christmas
  • Canterbury Open Centre
  • Scrine Foundation

Catching Lives is a charity [1] based in Canterbury, England that assists rough sleepers, the homeless and those in insecure housing. It relies on donations, volunteers and fundraising within its local community. [2] As of 2011, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was patron. [2]

Contents

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. [3]

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 [4] [1]

On 1 July 2010 the charity adopted its present name. It is a Registered Charity, number 1014868, and Limited Company number 2719436. [1]

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. [4]

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. [4]

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. [5] The foundation's trustees denied the allegations but had to give all 66 staff notice of redundancy. [5]

On 31 October 2009 the Scrine Foundation's night shelter closed after 14 years. [6] A month later it re-opened as a day centre.

Catching Lives Bookshop

Catching Lives Bookshop, 2010 Old Kings School Shop Canterbury 1 (4901200691).jpg
Catching Lives Bookshop, 2010

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. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canterbury</span> Cathedral city in Kent, England

Canterbury is a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was until 1974 a county borough. It lies on the River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Kent</span> University based in Kent, United Kingdom

The University of Kent is a semi-collegiate public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its royal charter on 4 January 1965 and the following year Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, was formally installed as the first Chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wye, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Wye is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill, in the Ashford district, in Kent, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Ashford and 12 miles (19 km) from Canterbury. It is the main settlement in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill. Hop varieties including Wye Challenger were bred at Wye College and named for the village.

Centrepoint is a charity in the United Kingdom which provides accommodation and support to homeless people aged 16–25. The Prince of Wales has been a patron of the organization since 2005; his first patronage. His mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was patron of the organization before she died.

The Rough Sleepers Initiative was an initiative by the Government of the United Kingdom's Rough Sleepers Unit (RSU), which resulted from a campaign by St Mungo's, a London homelessness charity, called National Sleep Out Week. It was designed to accommodate homeless people with emergency hostels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in England</span> Overview of homelessness in England

In England, local authorities have duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person must overcome in order to qualify as statutory homeless. If an applicant only meets the first three of these tests Councils still have a duty to provide interim accommodation. However an applicant must satisfy all five for a Council to have to give an applicant "reasonable preference" on the social housing register. Even if a person passes these five tests councils have the ability to use the private rented sector to end their duty to a homeless person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington House (London)</span>

Arlington House is a hostel for homeless men on Arlington Road in Camden Town, London that opened in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of homelessness in the United Kingdom

Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but affects people living in every part of the UK's constituent countries. Most homeless people have at least a modicum of shelter but without any security of tenure. Unsheltered people, "rough sleepers", are a small minority of homeless people.

Canterbury Student Radio (CSR FM) is a membership based student and community radio station based in Canterbury, England. It is currently funded by Kent Union based at the University of Kent. When actively broadcasting, the radio station airs a mixture of live and pre-recorded programming from Studio Red based in the Student Media Centre on the main campus 24 hours a day.

The Wild Goose Cafe is a project run by Crisis Centre Ministries, or 'CCM', a Christian-run local charity based in Bristol, England. They are a charity working to improve the lives of socially excluded homeless people and those with addiction problems. It was first established in 1986 by Derek Groves and was originally called 'The Missing Piece'.

The Passage, founded in 1980, runs London's largest voluntary sector day centre for homeless and vulnerable people helping over 200 people every day to access diverse services, including primary services, housing and welfare advice, health services and employment and training services. The Passage have a supporting team of Street Link workers who make contact with those sleeping rough to see what can be done to help and have been running a 48-bed hostel, Passage House, since 1 March 2000. The Passage also run Montfort House, which contains 16 self-contained studio flats with on-site staff support for those preparing for independent living.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mungo's (charity)</span> Homelessness charity

The St Mungo Community Housing Association, working as St Mungo's, is a charity registered in England to help homeless people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BAPS Charities</span> International charitable organization

BAPS Charities is an international, religious, charitable organization that originates from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) with a focus on serving society. This focus on service to society is stated in the organization's vision, that "every individual deserves the right to a peaceful, dignified, and healthy way of life. And by improving the quality of life of the individual, we are bettering families, communities, our world, and our future." BAPS Charities carries out this vision through a range of programs addressing health, education, the environment, and natural disaster recovery. The organization's worldwide activities are funded through donations and are led by a community of over 55,000 volunteers who are mostly members of BAPS. The volunteers work with local communities and other charities and the organization's activities are mainly based out of their mandirs.

Streetlife is a registered charity based in Blackpool, United Kingdom. The charity was founded in 1982 and their shelter opened in 1992. Their aim is to provide shelter and support to young homeless people across North West England aged between 16-25. Around 400 young people access Streetlife's services each year.

Family Promise is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, founded by Karen Olson in 1988. Family Promise primarily serves families with children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, with the mission of "help[ing] homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response."

Covenant House Toronto is a nonprofit organization that serves, at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth between the ages of 16 and 24. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is one of many Covenant House locations based in North America. The Toronto location is the largest agency of its kind in Canada, with 80 per cent of their annual funding coming from donors. The house serves as many as 300 youth a day regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or the circumstances that have brought them to their doors. Covenant House also offers services such as education, after-care, counseling, health care, employment assistance, and job training. The organization has also offered their services to more than 95,000 young people since its start in 1982.

The Homeless Foundation is a registered charity based in the West Midlands with the aim of eradicating homelessness across the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2007 and is run by a board of trustees.

The Whitechapel Centre is a homeless day-centre and registered charity in Langsdale Street, Liverpool, England. Established in 1975, it works with people in the Liverpool and Sefton areas, offering advice and information about housing. The centre is open 12 hours a day for 365 days a year. From 2018 until the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Whitechapel Centre also offered a night shelter, Labre House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Community Place</span> Community center in Virginia, United States

Our Community Place is a community center created by a former Salvation Army building located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. The building was converted to a community center after Ron Copeland acquired ownership in 1999. After a lengthy renovation period, the center opened to the community in August 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Catching Lives, registered charity no. 1014868". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. 1 2 "Info Pack" (PDF). Catching Lives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  3. "Winter Shelter". Catching Lives. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 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.
  5. 1 2 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
  6. "Homelessness rise concerns charities", Yourcanterbury, 12 August 2010, retrieved 2 September 2010[ permanent dead link ]
  7. "Catching Lives Bookshop". Catching Lives. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  8. "Sir John Boy's House". Historic Canterbury. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

Further reading

51°16′27.5″N1°4′38″E / 51.274306°N 1.07722°E / 51.274306; 1.07722