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East Kent Peer Support Service

Community support


East Kent
Kent

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Monday - Wednesday :
10am-3:00pm
Thursday - Sunday :
Closed

We are a free support service for people who have any kind of mental health issue (diagnosed or undiagnosed) who are looking for a low-level peer support service and live in the East Kent areas of Thanet, Dover, Folkestone, Hythe, Romney Marsh and Ashford.

Who we are...

We are a free support service for people aged who have any kind of mental health issue (diagnosed or undiagnosed) who live in the East Kent areas of Dover, Ashford, Folkestone (includes Hythe and Romney Marsh areas).

You can download our publicity materials here

We provide support in person or via whatsapp, email, text, phone and video calls.

We accept referrals from other organisations and we also accept self referrals from people who want to contact us direct.

We deliver this service as part of Live Well Kent and Medway (LWKM) which is delivered on behalf of Kent County Council and the NHS by Porchlight and Shaw Trust. This Dover and Folkestone Peer Support Service is a Live Well Kent and Medway service provided by Rethink Mental Illness on behalf of Kent County Council and the NHS.

What is peer support?...

Our paid Peer Support Workers and Volunteer Peer Workers, use their own lived experience of mental illness as a tool for support when helping people using the service.

Peer support enables people with shared experiences to give and receive support to each other in a safe space where everyone's experiences are equally important with no one person being the expert.

What we provide...

We provide 1-2-1 support to help you improve your mental health and wellbeing. The 1-2-1 support is time limited can be provided for up to 3 months at a time.

The support is:

  • goal focussed 
  • person-centred
  • trauma informed

We will help put you in touch with other services that can help you with your mental health or any other areas of your life you may need help in e.g. debt support, employment, housing etc.

We also provide time-limited Peer Support Groups which are co-facilitated by a Paid Peer Support Worker and a Volunteer Peer Worker, covering topics such as anxiety management, confidence building, managing low mood.

We also provide peer support groups led by group members and supported by Volunteer Peer Workers. These can take any form such as music or art groups or for space to just talk and spend time together.

How can I access the service...

If you want to receive support from the service then you can either self refer or be referred by another professional or a family member or friend.

If you want refer please contact us by calling 07483 332505 or email us at eastkentpeersupport@rethink.org

Visit our Facebook page

Find us on Facebook by clicking here

Volunteering for the service

We are always looking for new volunteers peer workers to help us co-facilitate or lead groups. If you would like to know more please get in touch.