TUNBRIDGE WELLS
ON SUNDAYThe newspaper that's just `SO' Tunbridge Wells
www.yourtunbridgewells.co.uk Compliments of at the end of the Pantiles
NO.16 FEBRUARY 7, 2010
The newspaper that's just `SO' Tunbridge Wells
PICK UP FREE
AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS, SUPERMARKETS & PETROL STATIONS
HOMELESS people have
attacked the response of
councils in west Kent in a
countywide probe into servic-
es for rough sleepers.
The charity Porchlight commissioned
the research by the University of Kent,
entitled Slipping Through The Net,
which found provision for homeless
people in Kent was "very patchy".
Mike Barrett, the charity's chief exec-
utive, said there were more services for
homeless people in the east than in the
west of the county.
Meanwhile, west Kent authorities �
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council,
Sevenoaks District Council and
Tonbridge and Malling Borough
Council � have defended their provi-
sion for rough sleepers.
Researchers interviewed 21 home-
less people (seven women and 14 men),
whose ages ranged between 17 and 52.
As well as having nowhere to live,
seven had problems with alcohol and
drug abuse and seven had mental
health problems, including schizophre-
nia, depression and suicidal thoughts.
One woman said she had been raped
while homeless. Fourteen had stayed
exclusively in Kent, including two who
had moved from Sevenoaks, one to
Tonbridge and the other to Maidstone.
They spoke about their experiences
with local authorities and agencies
such as Porchlight, which provide serv-
ices and support for rough sleepers.
"One west Kent council attracted a
lot of criticism," the report states, with
one service user saying he was "fobbed
off" because of his mental health issues
and offered no support.
The same council was also found to
be "unhelpful" and did not offer any
meaningful options, saying it was "not
their problem".
Porchlight, which is based in
Canterbury, said it was not naming
individual councils because the aim of
the report was to spark debate rather
than to point fingers.
Another homeless person criticised
one council for giving her a low priority
and forcing her to move to another
west Kent town.
"Councils were perceived as mostly
unhelpful or offering limited help, were
slow and referred service users to inap-
propriate housing," the report found.
"There was a perception that councils
gave homeless people a low priority,
and were unwilling, in some cases, to
put applicants on waiting lists."
Asked why councils, particularly in
the west of the county, come in for
much of the criticism, Mr Barrett said:
"That was no great surprise because
councils are usually the first port of call
for homeless people.
"But local authorities are often not
able to help, so one of the issues the
report highlights is that organisations
like ours need to be better at profiling
what we can do.
"There's a massive split in terms of
distribution of homelessness services,
with more services designed to work
with people in the east than in the
west.
"There are high numbers of homeless
in Tunbridge Wells but service provi-
sion is more historical, which is some-
thing we are trying to resolve with
local authorities and charities.
"The distribution of services was
never planned and as a result places
Something fishy
IT MAY appear to be a classic harbour scene, but look closely and
you'll notice the sea is made of fish and the land of shellfish.
These works of art � dubbed `foodscapes' � have earned Carl
Warner, of Horsmonden, a place on a new cruise liner.
. SEE INSIDE FOR FULL STORY
FIND A UNIQUE VALENTINE GIFT FOR YOUR LOVED ONE � SEE INSIDE
WIN TICKETS
TO THIS YEAR'SLIVE SHOW 2010
ALSO
WIN TICKETS
TO THIS YEAR'S
By JENNA PUDELEK Rough sleepers get raw
deal in west, says report
LETTING DOWN
THE HOMELESS
CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO
PATCHY: Provision for the homeless
in west Kent has been attacked

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72 Produced by PageSuite