Groundwork South
Why we’re working together
In 2021, we began working with the regional charity Groundwork South to help vulnerable households in coastal Kent keep a safe and warm home for less with bespoke energy advice and support.
With areas of coastal Kent (Medway, Thanet and Folkstone) having higher than average levels of households living in fuel poverty, our programme set out to reach households in that area who were struggling to maintain a safe and warm home.
While we had initially identified coastal Kent as an area of greatest need, further data released by UK Government in 2022 highlighted that all Kent districts had seen an increase in fuel poverty since 2019. Following the overwhelming success of our initial programme in coastal Kent, we expanded our programme to support fuel poor households across Kent from 2023.
In April 2026, we expanded our Green Doctors service even further. Our new programme now encompasses households across Kent, Medway, Surrey and Sussex.
Together with Groundwork South, we’re providing vulnerable households with energy safeguarding advice, helping households to better manage their energy bills and supporting people to access additional support to maximise their household income.
What we’re achieving together
- Upskilling Green Doctors to provide one-to-one energy efficiency and energy debt advice
- Installing small energy efficiency measures to improve home energy use
- Raising awareness of carbon monoxide safety at home
- Promoting the Priority Services Register and helping households to join the free service
- Providing immediate financial support to households in energy crisis
- Supporting households with water debt and efficiency advice through Southern Water
- Referring households to other local support services, including our Safe & Warm community partners, for specialist help
How to get involved
Accessing the Green Doctors service
As one of our Safe & Warm community partners, you can refer households in Kent, Medway, Surrey and Sussex to the service by registering for a free consultation on the Green Doctors website.
You can also reach the team by email or by calling 0800 233 5255 and leaving a message.
If you live in Kent, Medway, Surrey or Sussex and think you may benefit from this service, you can register for a free home or phone consultation on the Groundwork South website.
Becoming a Groundwork South partner
You can find out more about working with Groundwork in Southern England on the Groundwork South website.