Homelessness at ‘critical state’ Couple living in car
Continued from page one accommodation.” Housing consultative board chairman Cllr David Barned said: "Homelessness has now reached a critical state in the borough and a number of proactive measures need to be im- plemented. "Hopefully we can
make some firm recom- mendations to the cabinet within a few weeks to get action underway." Maidstone, like many
other towns and cities in the UK, no longer has emergency hostels or night shelters. There is a short- age of private rented ac- commodation – especially for people on benefits. Even when the council thinks a household is in- tentionally homeless, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation for a “reasonable pe- riod” - generally an average of 21 days. However, the shortage of bed and breakfast ac-
Burden on taxpayers IN Maidstone, in the current financial year, temporary accommodation has been provided for an average of 54 days per household, ex- pected to cost the council £275,000, before es- timated housing benefit payments of £100,000. The council allowed £127,200 for temporary accommodation in its budget for the current year, offset by housing benefit income of £61,670, resulting in a net cost of £65,530. However, the net expenditure on temporary accommodation already stands at £130,580 and is forecast to increase to £175,000 by the end of the year.
commodation in Maidstone and the increased de- mand on the service, means families are being re- located out of town – which brings its own difficulties if there are children involved who at- tend local schools. But the picture is little different in neighbouring authorities, with Medway, Ashford and Tunbridge Wells facing their own problems. Housing services man-
ager Neil Coles’ report states: "As the economic climate continues to con- tribute to increased levels of hardship, it is expected that the number of house- holds presenting to the council as being threat-
ened with homelessness will continue to rise. "Demand across Kent for temporary accommo- dation is currently so high that it is becoming in- creasingly difficult to find accommodation available on demand."
KENT Police Authority has voted to freeze the police council tax for the forth- coming year and to accept a £2m gov- ernment grant instead. The authority has agreed a budget of £274m for 2012-13 of which 68% is funded by the Government and 32% by the police council taxpayer. The authority and force are entering
The Snow Queen... Leeds Amateur Dramatic Society
IT sounds uncritical but I go to village pan- tomimes to enjoy myself. I do not enjoy Lord Sugar growling, “You’re fired”, or floods of tears on “X Factor”. V i llage pantomimes are enjoyed by everyone who puts the show together, from the cast, backstage team and set builders to those who help with the sound and lights. Even the director enjoys it when the audience cheers and laughs. This year at Leeds was no exception. When Carole Burton led us all in singing, “The wheels on the bus...”, we all cheered and sang. When we all blew hard, the Snow Queen’s im- pressive gate melted before our eyes. The special effects were amazing; eat your
JOHN
MUNSON SHOW TIME
heart out Spielberg! There was a great Jack Frost, related to grand dame Granny Feath- eredge, that’s panto. The Snow Queen who liked younger men was related to a snowflake; well, that follows. Black Ice was a horrid vil- lain; that’s black ice for you. Wonderful sets by Helen Morley, great direc-
tion by Jane Steele. Interval chocolate bars and wine from Jane Newsome’s team. As we left, my better half said, “ I really enjoyed that”. I had to agree.
Access for all event GOLDING Homes is holding an Access for All event to help find out what prevents disabled people from accessing services in Maidstone. The free event atMaidstone Leisure Centre, Mote
Park, is on March 29, from 10am -3pmwill highlight the services available for people with disabilities and their carers. There will be free prize draw to win aWii con- sole plusWii Fit and others prizes.
6 East
A PROFESSIONAL couple re- cently sought help at Maid- stone Day Centre, having both lost well-paid jobs and, conse- quently, their home. They had been living in their car and their relationship had finally cracked under the strain. “When you become home-
less and you haven’t con- tributed to your circumstances, it is devastat- ing,” said day centre manager Sue Tallowin. “They haveworked all their
lives, paid their taxes and wonder why there is nobody there to help them in their hour of
need.Mentally, people rarely recover.” In the past year, the centre
has helped six people holding down full-time professional jobs while living in their cars and on other people’s floors.
Police pledge to deliver despite cut backs The county was split into three polic-
the second year of amajor programme to find £50m in four years. However, policing services will be maintained including the boost to neigh- bourhood officers, introduced last No- vember as part of a reorganisation programme.
ing divisions – West, North, and East – and a new appointment system has been introduced to enable victims of crime to see an officer at a time and place of their choosing. Kent still has one of the lowest police council tax rates in the country,with the average band D household paying £2.67 a week. Ann Barnes, chairman of Kent Police Authority said: “A one-year grace will help hard-pressed families and this de- cision means that those who are strug- gling are not burdened with more financial worry.”
Weavering to Bucharest duo are set for more
AS the winter weather hit hard on the local area, one couple fromWeavering found themselves facing temperatures approaching -20 C as they spent the first weekend of February working in Bucharest. Psychotherapist Jane Nixon and local
writer Neil Nixon (right) were in the Ro- manian capital to deliver a workshop providing specialist training for Roman- ian psychotherapists in supervision tech- niques and the use of creative writing in their work. The venture proved such a success that Jane andNeil returned home to an email inviting them to return in 2013 and run another training program. Neil said: “This was a first for us be-
cause we’ve never done this kind of work in a foreign country with simultaneous translation going on. We had one day to see the city, including awalk through the main park as the temperature rose to -14 C. “The workshop was very intense, and the group we worked with put in an incred-
ible effort.We’ve already accepted the request for next year, though they’ve promised to schedule this for later in the year when it gets very warm over there.”
Vote for your unsung hero and make them a star THE first Celebrate Maidstone event is being supported by a host of the town and county’s most prominent leaders and or- ganisations. Among those supporting the event, or- ganised by Jubilee Church and Training Centre to recognise the area’s unsung he- roes, are Maidstone Borough Council, mayorBrian Mortimer,Kent Invicta Cham- ber of Commerce and Hillreed Homes. Nominations for Stars of Maidstone, di-
vided into several different categories such as star volunteer, arts contribution and courage in the care sector, are already
flooding in. The winner of each category will not be chosen because of thenumberof nominations they receive but because of the reasons given for their recommendation. The awards will be presented at an invi- tation-only evening on Friday, May 11, at the Mercure Hotel in Hollingbourne. The heads of a number of organisations that contribute to the health and prosperity of the townwill be invited to attend alongside the winners of the awards. For more information on voting, as well
as other ideas to celebrate the town, go to
www.celebratemaidstone.org.uk.
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
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