Kadesh is one of our supported housing services, providing homes, support and stable environments to help people with convictions to transform their lives. Recently renamed, Kadesh has undergone some exciting developments this year as it has taken on the old Shrubbery care home site in Rochester. This has increased the service’s capacity as well as given new opportunities to provide different levels of support, accommodation and activities for our clients.
Melinda Grahn, who was previously at the Shrubbery, is the new Housing Services Manager at Kadesh. We’ll let her introduce you to this service in her own words…
Kadesh is made up of a large hostel for men, alongside a number of houses in the community for both men and women. We are one of the few Langley services that can support women with convictions – one of whom you’ll hear from in a few pages time!
Our hostel sleeps 14 men, each with their own bedroom. Currently, every bed is filled which is fantastic as it means those needing our help are accessing it. Clients who live in the community are more capable of independent living and in our hostel we encourage elements of independent living (e.g. self-catering and self-medicating). However, many of our clients benefit from extra support to build their life skills, such as managing budgets, basic cooking skills and how to maintain a tenancy, etc.
We’re passionate about providing individuals with activities and opportunities that not only develop their skills, but also improve their mental and physical well-being. We have a karaoke machine, and frequently hear singing filtering through the building.
We host a ‘Give It A Go’ club every Thursday and put on activities like quizzes, bingo, guest speakers, etc. Our chaplain often attends these sessions so it’s a great opportunity for our clients to connect with her. A few of our clients are keen gardeners and have planted lots of vegetables which they are very proud of – we might even have a farmers’ market one day.
The service is staffed 24/7 by a fantastic and experienced team, who are invaluable to supporting individuals with convictions to transform their lives.
As mentioned, previously known as the ‘Kent Resettlement’ service, we’ve recently renamed to ‘Kadesh’ which refers to the place where God’s people stopped before crossing the River Jordan into the promise land. It means ‘holy place, sacred’ and signifies a sanctuary and a place to rest. This is exactly what we aim to do here: offer a place of rest and restoration to our clients who have often had traumatic lives and faced significant difficulties coming out of custody.
Want to read more?
Read this article and more in the Summer 2024 edition of Breakout
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