Warm space venues set up in Kettering as temperatures plummet

Walking outside on a cold Monday morning, in the first snow of winter this year has seen, with a scarf that was nowhere near thick enough led to only one thing being on my mind – to get somewhere warm as soon as possible.

And Kettering has an abundance of warm spaces to offer people who are desperate for an escape from the merciless cold.

I went over to the Eden Centre open door church, a venue in Montague Street, that is operating as a warm space, to see what it was all about.

My fingers were numb by the time I got there; the warmth when I entered the church was beyond welcoming.

I was greeted by a woman named Vanessa Knight, who is one of the volunteers who helps in running the warm spaces initiative.

After being offered a cup of tea she sat down and told me about warm spaces.

She said: “The concept of warm spaces is quite new and so most people are unaware that they exist. It is space where people can feel at comfort in the warmth, but also space for socialising and having some company.”

With the cost-of-living crisis getting worse, people are having to adapt to a more restricted lifestyle with changes such as not being able to have hot showers or drink tea and coffee.

In these situations, having a place to go where you know you will have a hot drink at hand is nothing short of a blessing.

“This space is not only for homeless people, but also for people who simply don’t have the money to pay their bills.

"We are open between 10.30am and 2.30pm on Thursdays.

"Last week we had a total of six people, but we are expecting numbers will rise as it gets colder.

"So far, we can accommodate between ten to 15 people, but if more people come by then we can open another room.”

The Eden Centre used to operate as a food hub before lockdown and ran a project called the ‘Corona Kitchen’ during the pandemic where meals were served to people struggling with their financial situation.

Hence, it has always been a venue that has offered support to the community and will continue to do so through the current crisis.

After warming up considerably, I was reluctant to go outside into the cold again.

But it was necessary if I was to locate another warm space nearby.

The next venue I travelled to was St Michael’s Church in Garfield Street and the welcome was just as lovely.

I was greeted by two women, Elizabeth Booth and Mary Watts, who were waiting for people seeking shelter from the cold to come in and make the most of the hot drinks and soup that they had to offer.

Elizabeth said: “I felt angered by the government’s response, or really lack of response to the cost-of-living crisis and thought the best way to channel my anger is to help people.

"So that’s why I volunteer to help with the warm space.

"It’s a pity that people are in such bad conditions that they need to use warm spaces, but it’s good thing that we have them in place.”

The fact that both warm spaces were empty was something that stirred in my mind for a while after I left.

As much I hope that families can heat their own homes during winter, I think it is very important that these warm spaces be made more aware of in our community, so that people know that there is an alternative to feeling hopeless.

For more information about warm spaces in north Northants click here.