The Warm Welcome Spaces initiative has been providing shelter and company for people in the Keswick area struggling with the cost of heating their homes for 10 weeks now.
In that time more than 420 visits have been made to the eight centres that were originally part of the scheme and there have been refreshments and activities to keep visitors entertained and new friendships have been forged.
t has been announced that while four of the centres have now closed, four – The Drop In Centre, Keswick (Friday), the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Underskiddaw village hall (Wednesday) and Threlkeld village hall (Friday) – will continue to provide the service from 1pm.
It is planned to keep these remaining four centres open until late March but this is subject to a review in February.
While the four centres now remaining open were used more in line with early expectations, it seems clear that most of the visitors attended for the company, the activities and social interaction.
Keswick Rotary and Churches Together in Keswick launched the initiative in mid-November at a time when the weather turned more wintry against a backdrop of forecasted rises in energy and food prices.
The centres have been funded by grants and donations from local councils, Cumbria Community Foundation, The Hadfield Trust, the organisers and individuals.
More than 50 volunteers from the participating centres, supported by the Rotary and others, ran each daily session.
The organising group are very grateful for and appreciative of the generosity of centres, volunteers and donors for all they have given, and in some circumstances will continue to give until the project closes in late March
Despite the recent mix of typical Cumbrian winter weather, the five centres which have closed had consistently been visited by too few residents to justify the time of volunteers, albeit with low costs of opening.
The project is an experiment and results have been similar across Cumbria and the rest of the UK.
While the three centres now remaining open were used more in line with early expectations, it seems clear that most of the visitors attended for the company, the activities and social interaction.
Rotarian Tony Welton, one of the organisers of the Winter Warmth CA12 scheme, said that from the level of early applications to the recently launched Lions and Rotary cash grants scheme – email: [email protected]; mobile: 07522 140802 – it seems there are a number of homes in Keswick area which are feeling the serious effects of current inflation and that help in the form of cash or basic food supplies may be the preferred solution for both families and older residents.
“Whilst the continuing success of the three Warm Spaces remaining open is an encouraging outcome for the future, Rotary and others will continue efforts to identify schemes which support the local community,” said Mr Welton.
