"When our community is struggling, we need to be able to come together and support one another." Alison and Linda are just two of the managers taking part in #WarmCheltenham and opening their doors for locals when they get too cold in their own homes during the day. They help to run the Cornerstone Centre in Whaddon, which is now part of a whole network of warm places across Cheltenham.
The scheme comes as energy prices soar for Brits across the country. A recent poll from Savanta ComRes found that one in four households aren't planning to turn their heating on at all this winter, so communities are coming together to help make sure no one goes cold as temperatures begin to drop.
Cheltenham Borough Council are at the helm of bringing the project together after giving £65k in funding in grants across seven community spaces and food banks. The warm places will feature; charging points, free WiFi, newspapers, and colouring books to make the spaces feel like a home from home.
Jenny from The Forest of Dean lives in a static caravan and says winter is always a struggle as she battles to keep warm. Her home is heated through gas bottles that she says have risen in price by £40 since she last topped up two months ago. She has mobility issues so is unable to travel far but says, "if there was somewhere really local to me and I was really desperate then I would probably go [to a community warm space]. I hope it doesn't get to that point for me."
Although the scheme hasn't reached Jenny's area, the council are encouraging more venues to join.
The council is also giving funding to community food providers across Cheltenham to help people who are struggling to put food on the table as a result of the cost of living crisis.
Councillor Pete Jeffries visited Springbank Community Food Pantry to see the work they are doing to help support low-income households when they need it the most.
He praises the volunteers and donors and says, "the grants will help support the organisational resilience of these community food providers and recognise the hard work that is being done to alleviate the cost of living crisis faced by our local residents."
To find out more, you can visit the council's dedicated cost of living support pages for the full list of warm places and food banks, as well as energy saving tips and financial support.
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