'I wouldn't have my children if it wasn't for Seashells'
Today, the Sheerness family hub - along with Milmeads in Margate - will find out if their funding has been cut by Kent County Council.
A mum from the Kent has told us that she 'would no longer have her children' if it wasn't for Seashells Children's Centre.
Today, the Sheerness family hub - along with Milmeads in Margate - will find out if their funding has been cut by Kent County Council.
Kelly Machen's five children frequently attend Seashells and she's scared about the possible closure, she said: "I'm dreading it because they have done so much for me for the two years I have been with them.
"If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have got home my two eldest boys, and the staff are all supportive and it would just be so weird if they wasn't there. I think I would be so lost because i go in there just to speak to everyone, a general chat about daily life, they just do so much for the community.
"It's not just me though, all families will struggle, 100%. They won't have the support, they won't have all the groups that everyone goes to and it will end up at the Sheppey Gateway where I worry there wouldn't be the proper safeguarding in place."
By decommissioning the services at Seashells and Millmead, the council hopes to shave around £425,000 from its budget.
KCC claims the same services are to be made available at other centres nearby but critics say they are too far away for existing users to access and may not be ready in time.
The contracts are due to run out at the end of the month.
The authority has been under severe financial strain for some years and is faced with having to make tens of millions of pounds in savings in order to balance the books.
KCC says it has faced soaring costs, particularly in the area of adult social care, but does not receive sufficient funding from central government to pay the bills.
The council announced officially on January 17 services at both centres would be decommissioned.
That decision was later called in by the powerful scrutiny committee where a Tory revolt forced the cabinet to rethink its decision in light of some new data which appeared to throw doubt on KCC’s reasons.