You're Welcome

We want everyone to find a place of belonging and reconnection at a Warm Welcome Space near their home. Guests say that what they love about their Warm Welcome Space is the opportunity to make new friends and connect with their community. It all starts by sharing a cuppa. Why not explore your local Warm Welcome Space today?

A man at a Warm Welcome Space
Children and all ages at a Warm Welcome Space
Children and all ages at a Warm Welcome Space


The Warm Welcome Campaign wants to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces. We’re working hard to reach everyone with a message that a Warm Welcome is waiting for you just around the corner, all through the year.

A Warm Welcome Space is a great place to share a cuppa, connect with others, and make new friends.

You're Welcome

The Warm Welcome Campaign exists to turn poverty and isolation into warmth and welcome through the power of local Spaces made by and for the community.

Please join us for the 2023 Warm Welcome Launch Event. It’s your open invitation to join the Warm Welcome Campaign and be part of the movement to turn poverty and isolation into warmth and local connection this winter.

Date: Wednesday 4th October 2023
Time:
19:30 - 20:30
Location:  
Online

A man at a Warm Welcome SpaceChildren and all ages at a Warm Welcome Space

Find a Warm Welcome Space near you

Our map allows you to search for Warm Welcome Spaces near you by entering your postcode. It's never been easier to join a local community!

Podcast

Millie Johnson, presenter, producer and DJ, has been following the Warm Welcome campaign for over a year. She was struck by its importance in bringing communities and people together and reassuring them that they were not alone, and everyone deserves a Warm Welcome.

Over the last year Millie has watched as the campaign, created in response to a crisis, has developed into something so positive and essential, bringing together all kinds of people across various communities in the UK so they can access a much-needed Warm Welcome. Millie decided she wanted to be part of sharing this story.

You can listen to Millie’s podcast by clicking below or anywhere where you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Music.

The need for

Warm Welcome Spaces

There are 4,000+ Warm Welcome Spaces right across the UK. The difference they make to communities is remarkable; they bring connection, friendship, and human warmth, helping people feel less isolated and lonely and boosting wellbeing.

We want everyone to find a Warm Welcome Space in their local community. They are places where new friendships are forged, where guests become volunteers, where people feel valued and where communities come together to improve the lives of everyone.

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Poverty

Over 14.4 million people live in poverty in the UK. The cost-of-living crisis means that too many vulnerable people fall into debt and struggle to heat their home or buy food and other day-to-day essentials.

Connection

Most Warm Welcome Space guests say that the top reasons for coming to their local space was to make friends and connect with their community.

Two ladies enjoying a Warm Welcome Space
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Loneliness

7% of people living in the UK experience chronic loneliness. We all lived through the pandemic and experienced the impact of social isolation. Feeling isolated and alone can affect your physical and mental health.

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Warmth

Over half of visitors would have been at home with the heating off if they had not been at a Warm Welcome Space.

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4388
4,000

+

Spaces registered

Register Your Space Now

Make sure your space is registered so everyone can find a local Warm Welcome Space.

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Getting Started

Have a read of our getting started guide to give you an idea of what it’s like to set up a space.

Our Impact

84%

of guests said that being at a Warm Welcome Space has given them a stronger sense of belonging to their community.

97%

of the 4000+ Warm Welcome Spaces are open all year round. And 75% of spaces say that being part of our campaign has boosted their reputation locally.

87%

of guests said that being at a Warm Welcome Space had improved their mental health.

New friends

I have new friends, I'm learning English, I will be swimming.

Not alone

I always look forward to meeting new people and enjoy a meal with them instead of being alone.

Needs met

Going to a Warm Welcome space has enabled me to be warm and have food, which I would not have done had I remained at home. I met new friends outside my usual acquaintances.

Refuge

I can have some good time at the Warm Welcome Space, as I live at a house with people who are hostile to me. Coming here is a relief for me, instead of sitting at coffee shops and spending money there, I can sit here for free.

Helped me to cope

It’s helped me cope with the hard times. Knowing other people are going through the same and having somewhere to meet with those people that’s both safe and warm and free has been a real big help and taken worry and stress out of stressful situations.

Stories from Visitors

Discover how Warm Welcome has changed lives for the better.

Stories from Spaces

Discover the heartwarming stories of spaces making a difference.

Escape

It was the escape from an empty house that people found most gratifying about our warm space.

Healing and recovery

"Our warm haven provided a vital support system where ethnic minority women could come and share their stories, build friendships, develop resilience and a sense of worth. Supporting these women helped to rebuild their trust, self-confidence, self-esteem and the ability to move towards healing and recovery."

Sharmina
Sharmina Newham Muslim Forum

Part of a movement

"It’s great to be part of a movement, it fitted with our culture, our way of working with the community, especially vulnerable and excluded people. Before we joined, we were already thinking about what we could do to support our community through the cost of living crisis. We always have our spaces open everyday so it made great sense to tell people they could use the space as somewhere to keep warm as well."

Hannah Cox
CEO, Jacksons Lane Arts organisation

Shaped by needs

“People like it here as what we offer is shaped by their needs, it’s their space. Many of the people are distrusting of other agencies, so this is a space where they can be themselves.”

Rev Julie Wing
Unsworth, Washington, St Michael’s Church and community space called Mickey’s.

Meals together

“We knew that the worst time of day for those who are cold and isolated is in the evenings. So, we offered a warm space and evening meal. It’s the time of day when people need to put their heating on, so they saved quite a bit of money coming here. We loved creating the menus and cooking and bringing people together. It meant that whole families could come together for a meal they haven’t had to pay for. Vitally, children got a meal too.

Alongside food and drink we made sure there were activities, including board games that everyone could engage with.

We had one teenage boy with autism who really didn’t like leaving his room. His foster carer persuaded him to come along, and he loved it. He started playing chess with another person and it really made a big impact on his life.”

Annie Hall
Oak Community Church based in Orpington SE London

What we do

The Warm Welcome Campaign has a bold ambition to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.

We bring together a network of Warm Welcome Spaces and a growing coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy. By working together, we can unlock the power of community spaces made by and for everyone, creating a thriving network of hope and reconnection.

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Supporting Spaces

We resource, connect and champion a growing network of over 4000 Warm Welcome Spaces. Together, these spaces create a chain of hope right across the UK, bringing people together and helping them feel less alone and more connected with their community.

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Access to all

We want everyone to find a welcoming and inclusive space close to where they live, in places where people of all cultures, backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life can come together in their communities.