Gateway Services
Area Housing Officer Surgeries
A member of the housing team is available to discuss tenancy
queries, repairs, neighbour nuisance, anti-social behaviour, advice
on mutual exchanges and transfers, estate enquiries and any other
housing related issues.
Any queries that cannot be dealt with during surgery time can be
redirected to other departments within the Council.
This service is open to tenants, leaseholders and non
tenants.
If you are unable to attend a surgery there is a Housing Duty
Officer available at our Whitfield Office Monday to Friday, 9am To
4pm.
Drop-in sessions at The Gateway are on the last Tuesday in the
month between 10.30am and 11.30pm.
Children and Families Information Service
CFIS provides high quality information to parents, prospective
parents, grandparents and practitioners throughout Kent. We
offer up-to-date, comprehensive, accurate and impartial information
and guidance about childcare, parenting and other related services
together with publications or facilities that could be of benefit
to families with children and young people up to the age of
20.
Citizens Advice Bureau
The Citizens Advice service provides free, independent,
confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and
responsibilities from over 3200 locations. It values diversity,
promotes equality and challenges discrimination and collects
evidence of clients’ problems and uses this to campaign for changes
in policies and services.
Citizens Advice operates nationally and each individual Citizens
Advice Bureau is a registered charity reliant on over 20,000
volunteers and needs to raise funds to provide these vital
services. The majority of the advisers are trained volunteers,
helping people to resolve over 5.5 million problems every year.
A brief initial interview at the Gateway may resolve the issue
but if it does not, an appointment can be made at the main bureau
offices with either a generalist or specialist adviser or
caseworker under the legal help umbrella.
Drop-in sessions are available on Tuesdays and
Thursdays each week between 10am and 2pm
Council Tax Recovery
Help and advice if you are having trouble paying you Council
Tax
Community Warden - Kent County Council
Community Wardens aim to help the people of Kent to live
safely and independently in their neighbourhoods and communities.
They provide a visible uniformed presence to tackle anti-social
behaviour. Many wardens are regarded as the focal point for the
communities they serve and their mobile phone numbers are
accessible to all.
Drop-in sessions are available on the 1st and 3rd
Tuesday of every month between 10am and 1pm
Dover District Learning Disability Partnership Group
The Dover District Partnership Group was set up to make sure
local people can influence change and make decisions about services
in their area. The Group aims to be a powerful voice for
change in order to improve the quality of life for people with
learning disabilities, their families and carers.
Employment, Health & Wellbeing Service
The Employment, Health and Wellbeing service supports
individuals who are experiencing mental health issues to retain
their employment. Referrals can be made by GPs, employers or
employees within Shepway and Dover and is
free. Support is tailored to individual
needs. For further information please telephone 01303
210376 or email folkestone@mcch.org.uk.
Fraud Surgeries
Find out about how and when you should notify about your change
of circumstances.
Don’t delay and be investigated for potential benefit fraud.
Do you know a benefit cheat?
Information will be treated in confidence and investigated to
ensure that the correct benefit goes to the right people.
Don’t let it cost you money.
Email: benefitenquiryunit@dover.gov.uk
or call 01304 872190
Health Trainer Service
FREE one-to-one support for
- Emotional wellbeing
- Healthy eating
- Exercise
- Losing weight
- Sexual health concerns
- Stopping smoking
- Drug and alcohol issues
- Accessing local services
Telephone: 0800 849 4000 (option 3)
Email: eck-pct.healthtrainers@nhs.net
Drop-in sessions are available every Monday, Tuesday and
Friday between 9am and 1pm
Housing Options and Needs Service
|
Notice
From Thursday 16th June 2011 until further notice the
housing advice service will relocate to
the Council Offices at Whitfield and no longer be
available at the Dover Gateway.
We apologise for any inconvenience that this may
cause.
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HiKent
Kent’s award-winning deaf charity, dedicated to helping anyone
who has a
hearing loss. Free maintenance and batteries for your NHS
hearing aid. Free advice about helpful equipment.
Drop in service available every 2nd Tuesday of the month
between 11am and 12pm
Kent LINk
A LINk is an independant body that gains the views of people on
their experiences of health and social care services. It is a
collection of local people, community groups and voluntary
organisations who want to work together to improve health and
social care servcies for their community. LINks are backed by
Government legislation so they have some powers to ensure that the
voice of the community is heard.
The Kent LINk is open to everybody who lives, works and plays in
Kent, who use health and social care services and want to make sure
the needs of their community are heard and met. The LINk is
flexible, so everyone can take part at any level they want whether
that is just receiving information, taking part in consultations,
surveys, opinion polls or by joining in a focus group, project
group or even by being a mystery shopper. Once registered with the
LINk, people can choose their level of involvement which can then
be changed at any time.
Issues and concerns brought to the LINk go to the Priorities
Panel which looks at the broader picture of what the LINk is
currently working on, considers the information relating to the
issue and then recommends the appropriate action.
The Kent LINk does not have a specific base so hosts quarterly
events across the county to ensure people have the opportunity
to meet with participants and the support organisation to either
find out more information, be updated on projects or areas of work,
or to raise issues.
Telephone: 01303 297050
Kent Contact and Assessment Service ( KCAS)
Kent Adult Social Services has a responsibility
to assist people who need support in their daily lives whether
short or long term. We provide services to help maintain or
increase people’s independence and help them lead more fulfilling
lives.
Kent Contact Assessment Service (KCAS) is the main access
point for people wanting to contact Kent Adult Social Services
either about themselves or someone else. KCAS can provide the
following services;
- Information, advice and guidance on a broad range of services
in your community and elsewhere
- Initial contact assessments to find out if you are eligible for
support from Kent Adult Social Services
- Support with on-line self-assessment
- Occupational Therapy equipment and minor adaptations.
Enablement Service
- Urgent care services (from April 2010)
In addition the following equipment is available to
trial with professional support:
- Stair lift
- Bathing equipment
- Riser/Recliner Chair
- Bed Equipment
- Toileting/shower Equipment
Telephone: 08458 247 100
Kent
Contact and Assessment Service (KCAS)
website
Kent Supported Employment
Kent Supported Employment supports disadvantage people
into employment.
This free service includes:
- Accurate skills matching of clients to vacancies
- Providing support at interview and inductions
- Full health and safety risk assessment with recommendations for
adjustments
- Job coaching in the work place where necessary
- Signposting to funding for reasonable adjustments under the
Disability Discrimination Act and training grants
- On-going support to assist people to develop in their roles to
take on new responsibilities
- Support for employers to help retain existing staff with a
disability
Contact Details:
Sophie Cullis or Toni Spain
Queens House
Guildhall Street
Folkestone
CT20 1DX
Telephone: 01303 224266
Migrant Help
Migrant Help EU Migrant Advice Service provides advice and
support to EU nationals
on employment, health, housing, education, benefits, rights
and responsibilities.
Appointment sessions can be made every Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday between 9.15am and 4.15pm.
Parents with Partnerships
Partnership with Parents is a statutory, confidential and
impartial service offering advice and support for families of
children and young people with special or additional educational
needs and disabilities.
For further information please visit our new website or contact
us for further information on 01622 350640.
Porchlight
Porchlight is a Kent based homeless charity. Come and see a
friendly member of our team to get advice on benefits, housing and
tenancy sustainment.
If you are homeless or in temporary accommodation please ring
the Kent Outreach Service freephone helpline on
0800 567 7699.
Drop in sessions at the Dover Gateway every Thursday between
10am and 12pm.
Registrar
The registration service in Kent is responsible for the
registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil
partnerships
occurring within the county. It licenses venues where civil
marriages and civil partnerships may be conducted and registered
and provides citizenship, baby welcoming and renewal of vows
ceremonies.
Every Monday and Wednesday, customers can register births and
deaths at the Gateway, marriages may be registered on a
Thursday.
Appointments must be booked in advance by
calling 08458 247 400 or by visiting www.kent.gov.uk or by coming in
to the Gateway and speaking to a member of the Meet & Greet
Team.
Shelter
Shelter provides free legal advice and
advocacy at a specialist level on all aspects of Housing,
Welfare Benefit and Debt problems.
Shelter can be contacted at:
Third Floor
Atina House
Bench Street, Dover
CT16 1JH
Tel 0344 5151 444 Please call for further
information.
Shepway and Dover Mediation
Are you experiencing difficulties with your neighbours? We are
the local mediation service who specialise in supporting neighbours
who are having problems . These could range from
anti-social behaviour, parking problems , noise,dogs barking and
other day to day problems. The mediators will support you and
your neighbours to resolve the difficulties without taking sides or
telling anyone what to do,helping both parties to reach a agreement
that is fair and beneficial to all. this is a free service open to
the residents of Dover and Shepway.
If you feel we can be of any assistance please contact us
on 01303 227296 or email shepwaymed@lineone.net
Social Care Brokerage
If you have been assessed as needing support from Social
Services you will be offered a Personal Budget - money Social
Services gives you to arrange your own care and support. A Social
Care Broker can help you to think about the care you want, find
resources and services. If you would like to discuss what support a
Broker could offer you please contact:
Southern Housing
Pre-book or drop in to meet with a representative of Resident
Services to discuss or advise on all related tenancy issues.
Drop-in sessions every 2nd and 4th
Thursday of each month between 10am and 12pm.
Volunteer Centre – Dover
Volunteering can be a leisure activity or provide work
experience or the chance to update or maintain existing skills. The
Volunteer Centre offers a private, confidential discussion to
identify the type of volunteering that best suits someone’s
availability and interests, regardless of age, ability or
employment status and can help people access training and support
to make the most of their volunteering experience.
Drop-in sessions every Tuesday between 9am and 12pm.
Welfare Advice Service
Do you need help with benefits? Confused or unsure about what
can be claimed? Are you missing out on money that you are entitled
to?
The Welfare Advice Service offers a comprehensive
service, covering all aspects of Welfare Benefits. They can
arrange to visit you, at your convenience to discuss what benefits
you may be entitled to, and then help you to complete the claim
forms and collect any information that you may be required.
Telephone: 0845 345 0310 (Monday - Friday beyween 1pm and
5pm)
Email: enquiries@welfareadvice.co.uk
Contact Customer Services
Tel: 01304 821199
Email: customerservices@dover.gov.uk
