KCAH was set up in 1993 by over 50 churches in the Royal Borough of Kingston. The churches recognised that there was a housing and homelessness problem in the area and that it needed to be addressed by a professional housing advice service.
26th April 1993: KCAH was registered as and unincorporated registered charity.
18th March 1999: A company was formed, limited by guarantee, to take over the activities and assets of the unincorporated charity from 1 October 1999.
2008 - 2014: The Roaming Winter Night Shelter was established. For 6 years, KCAH worked in partnership with churches across the borough, who opened their doors to host people experiencing homelessness at night, during the coldest months of the year.
December 2016: KCAH moved to offices in St Peter's Church Hall, Norbiton.
2018: The Haven Winter Night Shelter opened as a 30-bed temporary winter shelter, hosted by several churches in Kingston, thanks to new government funding to tackle rough-sleeping in the borough. The Haven opened again between November 2019 and March 2020 and welcomed in 198 people off the streets, until we were forced to close due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
March 2020: The Resident Support Team was created to provide support for those that were housed in local hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic under ‘Everyone In’. This naturally evolved into providing support for those residents that were moved out of hotels and into local properties, either into shared accommodation (houses of multiple occupancy and one-bed flats). In an effort to streamline the support offered to the tenants within our accommodation across the board, KCAH decided to combine this supported accommodation project with the long-standing Access Project, the supported accommodation scheme run by KCAH for over two decades.
March 2021: The Joel Stabilisation Centre opened its doors – the first centre of its kind in London. Joel was designed to be a safe, supportive community for up to seven people, where they can focus on their journey to recovery, giving them the chance to break away from the self-destructive and chaotic lifestyle brought about by rough sleeping and addiction. This happened through 1:1 support from trained staff as well as group support; eating and talking together around the table; participating in structured daily activities that reflect each person's interests and skills, such as photography, gardening, fishing and music and helping residents rediscover how to run a home; cooking healthy meals, cleaning, washing and paying bills.