Leeds City council is working alongside Voluntary Action Leeds, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to establish a network of Warm Spaces across Leeds this winter.

Last week we published the first of  a series of ‘Good News stories from warm spaces’  and in this week’s instalment we speak to Mark Dobson, Chief Operating Officer at Wetherby in Support of the Elderly; Mark has many years of experience providing services for older people in and around Wetherby.

The café has run from Wetherby Town Hall since October of last year and will run initially for 22 weeks, with a view to carrying on the café as a Cost-of-living café in the spring and beyond.

This winter has proved one of the hardest, but Mark shows how the offer of a warm space can also tackle loneliness.

 

 

“On average, we are hosting between 30 and 40 people per week, and over 350 people have accessed the café since we began.”

Mark goes on to say;

“To say we are ‘pleased’ to offer this service is probably the wrong word, but equally, it has proved incredibly important to give people a warm space and some hot food during the current cold weather against the backdrop of the energy and the cost-of-living crisis.”

“The fact we have been averaging between 30 and 40 people per week shows that there has been actual demand, and I imagine this is replicated across the city. Clearly, this café is so well needed that we hope to run it in the spring and beyond, focusing on cost-of-living issues.

Apart from a warm space and a warm meal, it has been a perfect opportunity for people to meet and interact. It also addresses our mission around addressing loneliness and isolation.”

It is really good to see the other Cafes in the area are also springing up on different days to ensure that people have as much access to support across the week as possible.”

Leeds City Council has allocated funding from the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Cost Of Living Emergency Fund to support organisations that wish to operate Warm Spaces this winter. This fund is being administered by Voluntary Action Leeds (VAL) find out more here: 

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Voluntary Action Leeds