While Christmas may now be over, the cost of living crisis is not - meaning the ‘warm spaces’ where people can drop in and spend a few hours in comfortable surroundings remain as vital as ever. There are more than 100 such places across Stockport where anyone is free to come along and maybe grab a brew, have a chat or try out a new activity.
Among them is Vernon Park Cafe, in Offerton, which - as well as offering a haven for residents over the winter months - is helping to connect disabled and disadvantaged people with the wider community. It’s run by Pure Innovations - a charity that supports people with disabilities or health-related issues to lead ‘fulfilled lives with a sense of purpose and belonging’.
Some go on to work in the cafe itself or create clothes that are sold from a shop at the venue. After successfully bidding for council funding, the cafe has a special 'warm spaces' table with hot drinks, biscuits, soup and juice - as well as free children’s meals during the school holidays.
READ MORE: More than 100 'warm spaces' launched across Stockport ahead of 'challenging' winter months
Hats, scarves and hot water bottles are also available, while books can be taken or read inside. Jolene Wheeler, from Heaton Norris, dropped in for a drink with her sister-in-law on Thursday - making a donation for one of the knitted hats made by local residents.
“I think it’s great you can come in and the food and drink is a reasonable price,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“It’s brilliant because of the way the economic crisis is at the moment - and it is a crisis.
"It gives people somewhere to sit and keep warm and have something to drink and a bit of food because they might not otherwise be able to afford it. I’m working four jobs at the moment so I can afford to put the heating on and to dry my clothes."
She continued: "If I’m in that situation, then for people less fortunate than myself it’s definitely a good idea. This is brilliant for people.”
The warm spaces funding also allows Pure Innovations to put on free crafts every weekend which are run by clients who learn a range of creative skills at the hub. And on Thursday a special ceramics workshop was held - proving so popular three sessions had to be arranged to accommodate all the people who wanted to take part.
These included Sarah Burns, who came along with her children Daniel, 10, Emma, 8 and Harry 6, who are all home-educated. “It’s good to expose them to different things,” she said. We have done things before with air-drying clay but it's good to have other people’s input and to see that these sort of spaces can be used for different things, not just a cafe.”
“It gives them something else to do in the day,” she added. “At this time of year it’s good to have something that gets you out, it’s really easy to stay in, especially when it’s wet and cold.”
Tracey Bentley and Jay Brock also came along with their home-educated children Esmae, 9, Harvi, 6 and Bentley, 3. Tracey says her family has been trying to go out more to avoid spending too much on energy bills at home.
“So if there’s somewhere warm we can go that obviously really helps,” she added. "We have been here before for the cafe. We come sometimes over the winter and use the park and also use the Harriers cycling track in the park.”
The family has dropped in over the winter which Tracey says was ‘really helpful’ while the ceramic workshop also proved a hit with the children. “They are really enjoying it, they love creative activities like this, especially when they can use their imagination and it’s not too structured. It’s nice for other people to offer their ideas for them as well.”
Carol Smith and Tracey Robinson, both of whom work at Dial Park Primary School, were also enjoying themselves at the end of the school holidays. Both agreed the session was ‘really good’ while Tracey said the cafe offered a real ‘sense of community’.
Emily Baker, volunteer and community engagement coordinator at Pure Innovations, says that the charity has always liked to showcase what clients have achieved, but had previously only been able to offer workshops on a small scale because of limited budgets.
“These are always quite popular when we do something similar but we have never been able to do something like this where we can offer this much,” she said. "It’s all about connecting our clients to the community. It’s their community, they are part of it - it’s showcasing what’s here and what’s available.”
Emily adds that, along with the free school meals, the craft workshops -run by staff and clients - have been the most popular offering.
“It’s quite overwhelming, especially for clients with autism who like a routine, this can be quite overwhelming - but at the same time it develops their skills and confidence so it’s a win-win for all areas,” she said.
“It’s normalising things. This is our client’s community - they live here and it’s just normalising things. It showcases the skills they have and the knowledge they have. “We can only put it on and they have to do the rest.”
Clients also volunteer at the award-winning Pure Kitchen bakery in Stockport town centre - with some going on to take on full-time jobs at the charity’s cafes at Vernon Park and Etherow Park. Free loaves of bread will soon be available for free as part of the warm spaces offer at the two venues.
“Some clients take on jobs - not all of them, some just some to have a fulfilling day - whatever that looks like,” Emily added.
“Some come to build confidence and gain knowledge and experience from our staff to then go and get paid jobs. And some of our clients have paid jobs and come to us just because they have the fulfilment here. Everyone is here for a different reason.”
Despite the generous offering at Vernon Park, Emily says that the public have ‘given more than they have taken’ - including donations of hot water bottles and knitwear. “We thought, ‘Okay, we have all this funding, let’s use it to see everyone gets a free children’s meal,” she said. “
“That way there’s no stigma around it, there’s nothing - there’s no clause that they have to come and have an adult meal as well, it’s open to all, that’s the reason it’s so successful.”
She adds that a lady who didn’t speak English came into the cafe on the previous day - but staff and clients were able to ascertain that she was hungry and had no money. The visitor was given free tea and biscuits, while vouchers from the cafe’s ‘pay it forward’ scheme were also used to buy her a free meal. She was also amazed to be given a knitted hat for free.
“She got fed and hopefully she will come back and use it and spread the word,” Emily said. Pure Innovations also had drop off points at its two cafes for people to donate Christmas presents. People could also make a donation for items such as hats, scarves and books if they wished.
More than £50 was donated overall as well as two bags full of toys. These were given to seven local schools by the charity FRESH - helping to spread the word about the ‘warm spaces’ offer at the two cafes.
People who wish to pay for their children’s meals during the school holidays can donate, with the money being used to buy items for the warm spaces table, food for FRESH and the next round of school meals.
More information about Pure Innovations can be found here.
To find out where your nearest warm space is visit the council website.
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