Advice and Self Help Services

St Edmunds Church Living Well is used as an outreach venue by organisations specialising in advice, information and support services for the community.

 Welcome to Porchlight. We are one of the foremost charities supporting vulnerable and homeless people in Kent. We have supported accommodation projects based in Ashford, Canterbury, Dover and Ramsgate with support for street homeless people across the county. We provide a range of services supporting people with complex needs such as mental ill health and have specific services for young vulnerable and homeless people.

 The Kent Link is an independent network of local people and community groups working together to influence and improve Kents health and social care services. They will be at the centre every Wednesday starting 20th January from 9am - 1pm and every third Wednesday of the month from 6pm - 9pm. Please click on the logo for more details.

The Kent Link are looking for participants for the stroke services in Kent project. Please click HERE for details.

Coming Soon! Kent Savers Credit Union

A credit union is a democratic, financial co-operative owned and controlled by its own members. Each Credit Union is run only to benefit its members, all of whom have something in common - the common bond.  Click on the logo for more information or to pledge your support

 Your guide to surviving the credit crunch.

NHS Health Trainer Service

The new Health Trainer service for West Kent will be based here on Tuesdays and Fridays between 10am-1pm in the foyer. Their role is to support, encourage and motivate people who want to make behaviour changes, which affect their health. Please feel free to come in and have a  confidential chat to Sarah.

Housing Officer Enquiries  
Dartford Borough Council Estate Surgeries are being held in your area on a monthly basis at a venue close to you.  Your Housing Officer is on hand to discuss any concerns you may have.  These may include:

§     a query about your tenancy

§     difficulties paying your rent

§     housing advice e.g. transfers, mutual exchange etc

§     general up keep of your neighbourhood

Come and see Corrine Barber, your Housing Officer on the first Wednesday of the month between 10am and 12pm at the Living Well Centre, St. Edmund’s Road.

Action for Change give advice and information for anyone concerned about their own or someone else's drinking.  Open sessions take place at the Living Well on Tuesdays from 12:00noon  to 2:30pm.  You do not need an appointment to attend for a one-to -one confidential consultation where you can find out about the services available, or receive advice on how to cut down on your drinking, or arrange for follow up appointments.  For more information call 07595 650216  or e-mail reception.dg@action-for-change.org

M.I.N.K (Mediation in North Kent) provides a free service to help resolve disputes through mediation, and works independently of other agencies e.g. police and social services.  Call 01474 532485

C-card access point at the Living Well. If you are aged between 13 and 19 years old you can obtain a c-card here by visiting the sexual health clinic held on a Wednesday from  5-7pm. Once you have your card it will usually be possible to obtain free condoms in confidence Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm. Please click the logo for more information.

Turning Point, the UK's leading social care organisation, provide an opportunity for anyone affected by substance abuse to get advice and information on substances and substance related issues, about help and treatment available, to get practical support and to take the opportunity to speak with a friendly and experience member of staff who can assist you to look at your options or just get things off your chest.  Call 01322 278916 for more information or click on the Turning Point logo above to visit the website. 

  

Slimming World meet at the living well every wednesday and run 2 sessions beginning at 5.30pm and 7pm. For more information please call Jo Frankie on 07588491638 or click on the logo to go to the Slimming World web site.

Lone Parent Advisors are available at the Living Well throughout the year to offer advice and support to lone parents looking for work.  They can arrange guidance with CV and job searches, look at ways to improve skills through training and answer questions about Tax Credits, Job Grants, In-Work Credit and other help available. 

HiKent , a local charity that offers a wide range of services to people with a hearing loss,  holds a quarterly clinic at the Living Well to offer free "servicing" of national health hearing aids - simple cleaning, re-tubing and new batteries .

Oasis Counselling Service provides a low cost service for those with issues of depression, money

management and debt, pregnancy, drug abuse and addiction, relationships, job seeking/ career change

and bereavement. A bereavement support group meets at the Living Well on the second Monday of every

other month from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.  For further information contact 01322 294430.

( Dedicated pregnancy crisis number 07958 452294.)  

DIAL N.W.K offers a free, impartial and confidential advice and information service for people with disabilities, carers and professional people who work with them. Advice is provided by volunteers who are themselves disabled or  carers, who can offer empathy and experience. Advice is given on a wide range of topics including welfare rights, mobility, leisure and access, both over the telephone or in person. Help is also given on appeals and reviews. For further information call 01474 321761. 

 CRI     Please click here to go to the CRI web site

CRI is a national provider of support, treatment and rehabilitation programmes for those whose lives are blighted by substance misuse, crime and lack of opportunity.

Our service users include:

• Adults and young people with substance misuse problems
• People who are homeless and living and working on the streets
• Offenders in prison and those serving community sentences
• Families and communities affected by crime, substance misuse and anti social behaviour
• Victims of domestic abuse    
•  
• Stop Smoking Services at the Living Well          

  Helping people stop smoking is a priority of the Living Well. Each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon we have a specialist advice worker available to talk with you about ways to help you quit. Why not drop by and have a chat?

  For more infromation come and see Anjali Ambadkar or Alternatively, you can call the local NHS Stop Smoking Service on 01622 723836,  or e-mail: smoking.westkent@nhs.net

 Please click here to go to the CRI web siteStop Smoking Services at the Living Well          

Helping people stop smoking is a priority of the Living Well. Each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon we have a specialist advice worker available to talk with you about ways to help you quit. Why not drop by and have a chat?

For more infromation come and see Anjali Ambadkar or Alternatively, you can call the local NHS Stop Smoking Service on 01622 723836,  or e-mail: smoking.westkent@nhs.net