Warm banks

[Winterthoughts]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-62911902

When reading this,and seeing we've actually got to this point,I felt really struck by the sadness and disbelief over this happening.

It's almost unbelievable isn't it?

I'm slightly concerned that all the standalone heaters at work have been removed and we've been asked to "layer up" over the winter... 🤨

I had hoped the office at least would be warm.

Our local community centre has advertised that it will be open daily for 4 hours as a 'warm space' and for free tea coffee and biscuits and a chat etc over the winter. Sad that it has come to this.

To be fair when my children were younger I used to walk to the library and sit there for a few hours after nursery (so half days) and warm up in there since we didn't have any heating on at home. So for some, 'warm banks' already exist.

Perks of knowing poverty. You know all the tips and tricks when procedures go up I guess.

It's really sad. I can't really believe how weak Britain is, the sods in government cut everything so close to the bone and now here we are.

Warm banks won't work in rural areas.

It is sad that this has become the reality for some BUT these hubs will provide an important chance for isolate people to socialise too which is incredibly important for wellbeing, particularly over winter months when people tend to venture out less. Longer term it could prove to be a valuable resource and I'd like to see all councils over such things as a long term resource

I appreciate the "glass half full " attitude,and yes, isolation has definitely been a big issue coming out of covid: but I think this is conflating two separate things. Yes, we need places for people to meet and feel welcome, but warm banks aren't about this: it's literally people unable to independently keep warm. This can not be allowed to become normalised,like food banks have become normalised. Like topping up working people's salaries with Tax credits/UC to a supposed livable amount has become normalised.