Counties Neighbourhood Chaplains open their churches as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
Neighbourhood Chaplains teams in South Glasgow, Stockport, Leighton Buzzard, Kendall, Colchester, and Chelmsford, have begun offering ‘Warm Spaces’ in churches and community buildings to combat the problems people are facing between ‘heating and eating’.
Warm Spaces Stockport
Helen Eadie is a Partner in the Community at 360Life Church in Stockport. Their Warm Space opened on 3 November from 10am to 9pm every Thursday. They offer a free soup and a roll at lunchtime and an evening meal to anyone in need. They’ve had nearly 30 people through the doors so far.
Warm Spaces Stockport
Helen says: “We get a lot of elderly people coming in who don’t have to put their heating on at home. The can sit and read the papers or chat with others. We have one old lady who lives opposite the church who we’ve invited many times, but she’s never come. But since we started Warm Spaces, she comes every week. She told us: ‘I need this. I have been going to bed at seven o’clock in the evening, turning the lights off and getting under the covers just to keep warm’.”
Neighbourhood Chaplains making a difference
Helen also says they have seen numbers increasing every week: “Three weeks ago we had a single mum come in. She’s just moved back to this area. She just walked in and said: ‘My house is so cold. We’ve got no carpets and no curtains in many rooms. And I just saw this and I wanted to come in’. She came in and spent the whole day with us and picked up her daughter from school and brought her back for her tea. We helped her daughter who was struggling with her maths homework, and they’ve been back every week since.”
Warm Spaces Stockport
Martin Korchinsky is a Counties Neighbourhood Chaplain, and Pastor of Brinnington Community Church, in Stockport. The church is based on the edge of a council estate with just under 10,000 residents.
As the cost-of-living crisis has started to hit many families – especially the poorest - Martin saw there was a real need for support with just the basics – warmth and food.
As part of the Neighbourhood Chaplains initiative, the church opened its ‘Warm Space’ on 7 November - every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, between 1100 and 1600 serving a free hot meal, tea, and coffee.
Warm Space at Brinnington Church, Stockport
Martin says they get around 30 people through their doors every day.
Martin says: “It looks increasingly likely that families and individuals will need to make choices this winter about whether their heating stays on or the shopping gets done. Hopefully, local people won’t have to face the Hobson’s choice of ‘heating or eating’.”Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.Such has been the demand – which is increasing weekly – that Age UK has teamed up and looking for ways to provide extra funding and help pensioners who are isolated.
“We have four ladies who have a whole day out now as they go to the local leisure centre or their breakfast – toast and tea. Then they come here for lunch and a get-together and finally go back to the leisure centre for an evening activity and snacks. So, they don’t have to worry about anything – they are fed and kept warm for the whole day.”
Warm Spaces Chelmsford
James Bell is a Neighbourhood Chaplain and Youth and Community Chaplain at Tile Kiln Church in Chelmsford.
The church was already running a coffee morning every day but extended it as a Warm Space running from 9:15 to 1200 so mums can pop in after dropping their children off from school.
James says the number of pensioners has also doubled since they advertised the coffee morning as a ‘Warm Space’:
“We have one old lady who comes in who is heating the space she is in when she is at home. I don’t know if she’s got a heated blanket or an electric fire, but I know she’s heating the person rather than heating the house.”
The church has even started the novel idea of advertising Sunday morning as a ‘Warm Space’. James says:
“People who come in don’t have to engage with the service, but it is open to the public and it is a warm space. We don’t make any secret about it. They can sit at the back and join us for tea and coffee afterwards.”
Tile Kiln Church is hoping to extend the scheme in January and open up a Warm Space on Thursday evenings. They hope to offer free soup and rolls, free WIFI, refreshments. They are currently in talks with their local Tesco and cash and carry.