After a bitterly cold day, Sara Phillips worries about how she is going to keep her children warm as they come home from school.
The 41-year-old lives with several physical disabilities and has to survive on a fixed benefits income.
But in the midst of a cost of living crisis, Sara is finding that is not enough to even cover essential bills.
Partner, Darren, 52, used to work but is now her full-time carer.
Despite cutting back on everything as much as they can – while their children, Amelia, 10, and Isabella, eight, have lunch at school, they now only eat one meal a day – the couple still cannot afford to keep their home warm.
For this family, it is not even a case of choosing between heating or eating; it is no heating, no eating.
Instead, they take the youngsters straight from school to the cosy community centre in Cookridge, on the outskirts of Leeds - a warm bank where they can have hot drinks and home-cooked dinner.
In a bright, cheerful room, decorated with trees and baubles for Christmas, Sara is one of several people who are getting stuck into some festive crafting.
She’s a dynamic, thrifty woman, but, as she said, people have reached the limit of what they can do.
Sara added: “This isn’t how people should be living is it? We’re watching every penny, everyone is. You just can’t make it go round.
"So to be able to come here after school is great, the kids can be warm and play and we’ll have some hot food. It’s a nice atmosphere.
“It feels like a nice place to be and that’s something at the moment.”
Sara has also been trying to help others who are struggling.
She said: “We haven’t got much but we’re all trying to help where we can. I run a school uniform swap and we’re doing a second-hand toy shop for Christmas.
“A lot of people are really struggling to even get the basics this year.”
Still wearing his parka while he warms up, Darren added: “Everything has gone up and there just isn’t anything left to have the heating on.
“We used to spend £80 on food, now you’ve got to spend £100 to get the same stuff.
“We go to a surplus food place. But with the heating you can’t do anything. We’ve got a smart meter and you’re just watching it, watching the money. Then you read about the companies making £3billion profit.
“On a night like tonight, you want the children to be warm after school.
"Without coming here it could feel really miserable, we’d be really cold.”
The Cookridge community centre is provided by charity Older People’s Action in the Locality.
They usually run a cafe and services but prompted by soaring fuel bills, the team signed up to the Warm Welcome platform – the charity we’re supporting with our Daily Mirror Warm Hearts Appeal – to provide support to the wider community too. Together we’re helping people across the UK stay safe and warm this winter, with more spaces being added.
People such as Pegah Karami, 35, husband Farzae Khah, 39, and their five-year-old daughter Anil who arrived here from Iran a few years ago. Farzae has started a new job with the Royal Mail, but the couple still do not have enough money to go around.
Pegah said: “It is very cold now. It’s frightening. We’re really happy we are able to come here.”
The centre’s CEO Ailsa Rhodes, 47, added: “I know of one man who was staying in a very cold house, after coming out of hospital with heart problems, he should be warm.”
At the top of the table, 82-year-old David Abbott is recovering from an eye operation.
He said: “It’s marvellous here. It’s warm and the people are lovely.
“You don’t know what will happen next with your bills, it’s really worrying. It’s terrible how families are having to live isn’t it?”
Click here to donate to the Warm Christmas Heart appeal.
