News Town shelters
more homeless A TOTAL of 77 homeless people were supported by Maidstone Churches Winter Shelter, 25 more than in the previous year when the project was launched. This included 55 overnight guests compared with 32 in 2013/14. The annual report shows the seven churches in the scheme shared the responsibility of provid- ing beds, sleeping bags, food, hos- pitality and comfort. The churches were: Salvation Army, United Reform, Baptist, St Michael and All Angels, Methodist, Quaker and St Luke’s. This year the shelter offered 15 beds for a 12-week period (includ- ing Christmas) compared with 10 beds for eight weeks when the scheme was piloted. Twenty of the shelter guests were aged from 25 to 34, 12 were from 35 to 44, 12 were aged from 45 to 54, seven were 18 to 24 and two were 55 to 64.
Mental health problems were a key cause of homelessness, with al- cohol, drugs, physical health prob- lems and relationship breakdown also figuring strongly.
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Runners enjoy sunshine and boost hospice funds
MORE than 540 runners enjoyed the sunshine at Maidstone’s first 10k run in aid of Heart of Kent Hospice.
Supported by Mercury Holidays,
this was the first charity run of the year to be organised by the hospice, which provides end-of-life care for more than 1,000 patients and their families each year. Starting from Cornwallis Acad-
emy, the circular route took the runners through Boughton Monchelsea and along winding country lanes. The runwas the per- fect warm-up for experienced run- ners getting ready for the spring races and a challenge for those new to running. First to cross the finish line was Calvin Mullings from Greenwich in 36:11, followed by Nigel Ling from Bexley in second place with 36:23 and in third place Alexander Lindfield from Downswood with 37:54. The first three women runners to complete the race were Penny Holden from Bearsted in 43:12, Holly Priestley from Maidstone in
From left. Clare Whitehouse, Penny Holden and Holly Priestley
44:54 and Claire Whitehouse from Bearsted in 45:17. The 10k was well supported by
local clubs, with more than 100 members from Beginners2runners taking part. Beginners2runners provides a network of groups across Maidstone and caters for those who are new to running. Ateam of 15 staff fromWesterhill Homes also took part to support the hospice as its charity of the year.
Spokesman Tim McLoughlin
said: “Many of us haven’t run be- fore, so we have been out training at lunchtimes from our offices in Coxheath. It’s been great fun and a real team effort for what is a very worthy cause.” Richard Neville, events manager
at Heart of Kent Hospice, said:“We are hoping the 10k will raise in the region of £30,000.We would like to thank Cornwallis Academy for kindly hosting the event on our be- half and our team of volunteers for their invaluable help.”
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