Bear with, trying to think of ways to help

[Dollyparton3]

I've struck upon an idea tonight that might be totally impractical but it has led me down a rabbit hole of community spirit.

The concept: I work from home 3 days a week. We have a relatively decent sized downstairs space, enough for me to be able to shut myself in the study for calls and I plan to light the log burner in the lounge that I don't go in for those 3 days to heat this floor so I don't fire up the heating for the whole house.

If I make a cuppa I fire up the kettle. It makes no difference whether I use 1 teabag or 2, I'm boiling it anyway. The TV uses limited energy, my lounge will be warm, I've paid for the Wi-Fi to work, the house is welcoming with someone feeling non intrusive in our space (no kids around) and husband works in an office 5 days a week. The very lovely dog loves cuddles and adult company which I can't give him when I'm working.

With the stories I'm reading in the media there will be people who are at home all
Day who can't get warm, will be scared to use the kettle because of the cost and will just be miserable this winter.

Is it patronising for me to think that I can offer for someone to warm house share with me during the day? Is there a platform for people to reach out on this and is it cruel or patronising for me to start to explore ways to perhaps say "come and make yourself at home in my home 3 days a week"?

I don't get involved with a lot of community work but hearing of people wanting to ride the bus to stay warm or go to warm centres feels awful when I can at least help a few days a week. Or does that make the problem worse?

Just wondering what community ideas you may have seen and maybe how my hometown could network and bring people together to at the very least take away a little bit of worry or discomfort this winter if others like me are able to help? We have community Facebook pages that are active, I'm wondering if I can help with a bit of blitz spirit.

If I'm better off continuing to contribute to food banks and upping that a bit then tell me to do that. I'm not in a position to open the whole house to 20 people but I've got a bit of guilt going on here and wondering if other feel the same

It’s a kind thought, but I suspect that the offer would attract someone who would also want your company, and then you wouldn’t get much work done.

In your position I’d offer it to someone I know, but personally I wouldn’t offer it out to a stranger.

Part of me also thinks that. The tricky thing is that we have no family close by (who you could happily hope would settle after a few days) and I don't know the neighbours well enough to want to drop a note through their door and offend them forever.

It just seems a bit nuts that although we're winding our necks in massively this winter we're not as badly off as some and this house will be warm whether there's just me or 1 or 2 other sat in our lounge keeping warm watching the telly and drinking a cuppa. I could even stretch to biscuit or two.

@Dollyparton3 maybe you could advertise it as a warm place to spend a couple of hours with free dog for company while you work. Though you may then get people wanting you to pay rather than on a voluntary basis. I think it's a lovely idea though.

It may appeal to a pensioner who doesn't have a dog but would like to spend time with one etc.

Students might appreciate the 'come and keep the dog company and do some work' offer. They might walk the dog for you from time to time as well. I worked with a student who was musing over whether they could 'borrow' one in a student room for a short while (no).

It could make a change from a house that's noisy where space is probably very communal.

I think the difficulty is the advertising part then letting a stranger into your home with all the usual risks that involves.

I think age uk offer a befriending service. If you offered to be a friend to someone local, then once you got to know them you could invite them over if it suited you both. It's a bit more controlled.

I had thoughts along similar lines that I could heat a can of soup or fill a flask for someone on our estate. Again if I knew someone I would but I think advertising some might ask daily simply because they would rather use my power than their own and it will be hard for us to afford our own bills. But I wouldn't knowingly let someone go without warm food or drink if I could help.

I don’t know. I wouldn’t want you to risk your safety.

Befriending services do risk assessments but that is a right ball ache and takes ages, but is safer.