On a crisp, bright day in Severn Beach, with the mercury barely creeping above freezing, the Bristol Channel looks clear blue for a change instead of its usual murky brown, while towering nearby smokestacks catch the light as they hang motionless in the icy air.
It’s a picturesque wintery view to look out upon from somewhere warm. But the plummeting temperatures of the past week have, for many, bought the reality of the rise in energy prices to a head as they reluctantly let their homes grow cold and inhospitable and try to make do without their heating.
Tucked away in an unassuming modern building on a smart housing estate, Emmaus Church Centre is one of the dozens of 'warm spaces' across the wider Bristol area that have been providing respite from the cold for anyone that needs it. Popping up everywhere from gyms, religious buildings and community halls, warm spaces all have their own opening times and offer varying amenities to anyone that wishes to use them.
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Now entering its fourth week, the warm space at Emmaus Church Centre is open from 11am until 3pm on Fridays, providing a warming meal and hot drinks. The centre is a cosy hall with high ceilings with step-free access from the car park. Inside, daylight streams through the windows and tables and chairs are scattered around, creating an instantly welcoming, informal atmosphere.
Organised by Pamela Griffin, around ten volunteers take turns doing duty in the hall and the kitchen as well as providing transport to those that need it. She says the space is currently geared toward adults rather than it is toward those with young children, as that’s what they can handle, but that everyone is welcome.
The church used to run a project called Holiday at Home, with free activities and entertainment twice a year in the summer and at Christmas. Holiday at Home was so popular among the older community in the area that opening up the church hall to be a warm space this winter seemed like an obvious step for the church’s volunteers.
“We just felt it was the right thing to do in the climate,” says Pamela’s husband Robert, who is also the district councillor for Pilning, Severn Beach, Easter Compton and Hallen. Pamela says the warm space is more of a casual environment, explaining, ”We’ve got papers and magazines, there are loads of games, Scrabble, Beetle Drive, Jenga and different sorts of crafts if people want them.
“But sometimes you want just want to chat or read the paper. It’s just whatever people want, and it’s different at times depending on who comes. They don’t have to stay all the time, but we thought that four hours was a good amount of time; it's quite a bit of money to save.”
On the day Bristol Live visited, around 11 people were using the space - a mixture of helpers and visitors - with everyone intermingling to the point it just felt like one big group. Currently, it's the only warm space in Severn Beach, but the village hall is soon to begin hosting people on Wednesdays.
Immediately, we were asked if we’d like some soup and offered a comprehensive choice of flavours. There were large tables for gathering and eating as well as activities and games. We were shown where we can charge our phone using a wall socket and even offered the WiFi code.
Before we arrived, a game of Beetle Drive had been underway, but while we dug into a bowl of mushroom soup and warm bread, there was a steady buzz of friendly chatter and jokes as people swapped stories of where they grew up and asked about each other's plans for the upcoming Christmas season.
Most of those using the space are already familiar to Pamela, but she hopes that more people will consider using the space if they need it, even if they’ve never been to the centre before. “Some people who live in Severn Beach have said, ‘where is the church?' You see, it’s not a standard church building, it’s on a side road.”
John-Mark, a volunteer at the church, says, ”I think that sometimes people can’t help but think that something has related to faith because it’s in a church, but what we’re saying is everyone's welcome. The motivation for doing this is to serve the community.”
'There's a lot of love here'
“Some people can be a little bit wary, thinking, you know, 'are you a little bit odd?' because it’s not a traditional church,” says Pamela, “but there’s a lot of love here, it’s a lovely building, and we do what we can for the community, and I’m just hoping that they will come.”
"Sometimes I do think people here are too proud to ask for help," says Robert. "For example, there is money available for insulation and for help with bills, but they won't apply for it."
During warm space sessions at the Emmaus Centre, Robert is on hand to offer practical advice to anyone who may want help navigating the government's winter fuel payment schemes or applying for grants to make their homes more energy efficient.
Robert says, “It’s very important because it will cost the state a fortune if these people have to be taken to the hospital.” He sees the warm space as a way of taking a bit of pressure off health services. But beyond the functional practicality of the room, many of those around the table see the biggest benefit from it being a place where people can gather.
John-Mark says, “Really, I think what people often need is a social space, a connection. Because weekly social contact can have so many benefits. It can stave off dementia, boost self-esteem, it has a huge impact on mental health.”
Everyone else seemed to agree that it’s the people who make the space somewhere comfortable where they enjoy spending a few hours - though the mugs of tea and cakes passed around after the soup is cleared away are certainly a draw too.
As people started to head home, Robert began clearing some of the chairs while Pamela, who had barely paused long enough to eat her soup, cheerfully finished tidying. We asked him how much he thinks it will cost to keep heating this centre, not just for the warm space but for the other activities it has on throughout the week.
With a flicker of apprehension, he told us that the meter reading was being taken that day; what the result will obviously be a concern, as it is for most people and organisations at the moment. He is in the process of applying for a funding grant that will help toward the building's heating costs but says it's a difficult process requiring “a lot of jumping through hoops”. It seems that nowhere is immune from energy bill worries.
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