The first blast of winter has left many Harrogate district people worried about the cost of staying warm.
We have therefore compiled information about warm spaces available in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon. If you know of any others in these places or in Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham let us know and we will add them. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
The information has been provided by community groups across the district.
Netmakers, formerly known as Harrogate Hub, is a movement of local churches working together to make a difference in the community.
Its website has details of the following places in Harrogate, Starbeck and Knaresborough offering, warm and welcoming safe places to go.
Information provided by Netmakers
Further details are available here on the Netmakers website.
The community benefit society Knaresborough Connectors has also devised details of warm spaces in Knaresborough. ]
Knaresborough Connectors’ list
More details of the locations, known as public living rooms, are available here.
Numerous public buildings in and around Ripon are throwing open their doors for free in Ripon each day, including Ripon Library and Allhallowgate Methodist Church.
Ripon Cathedral has compiled details here.
Wynn James, senior pastor of Life Destiny Church in Starbeck and trustee of Harrogate District Foodbank said:
“Our doors are open. We want our community to know that we are here to help. By working together across our area we hope to offer spaces in every corner of our community.
“I urge people to use the warm spaces and not to feel alone at this tough time.”
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Links to all of the organisations providing warm spaces, along with details of voluntary organisations that are at the forefront of the campaign to help people who are struggling this winter, are available on the Harrogate & District Community Action website.
Frances Elliot, chief executive of HADCA, said:
“Please do check out where to turn in your area, through churches or through other community organisations and encourage anyone you come across who feels reluctant about speaking up to do so, this particularly hard winter”
Starbeck cafe tackling the cost of living crisis
A cafe in Starbeck has become a hub for the local community, which is rallying together in the face of the cost of living crisis.
The Living Room Café is run by Sarah Khanye and inside the Life Destiny Church at 93b High Street.
The family-friendly space opens from Tuesday to Friday from 9am until 3pm and hosts a variety of events that aim to bring the community together with homemade food, drinks and treats available.
Ms Khanye, 31, has worked in catering all her life. When the Stray Ferret visited yesterday, she looked at home with a spoon in a bowl as she made a cake.
She set up the cafe over two years ago, before covid and before the cost of living crisis.
Both have unquestionably increased stress, isolation and anxiety for people living in Starbeck.
The cafe aims to be not just a place to fill up your belly, but also somewhere where local families and friends can get together in a welcoming space.
Ms Khayne said:
“One cup of tea can last all day. The cafe helps people feel safe, combats loneliness and improves mental health.”
Affordability
The cafe is volunteer-run, with prices kept affordable.
It also includes a pantry and community fridge that includes donated food from places like the Co-op, which people are able to pay for with whatever they can afford.
The cafe also hosts events including community running clubs, craft and coffee mornings and get-togethers for mums, among other activities.
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Cost of living
Starbeck is one of the least affluent areas in the Harrogate district with many residents more vulnerable to increasing prices.
Life Destiny Church also runs a food bank, which has seen demand increase sharply.
Ms Khanye says in the last two months alone, the number of people coming to the food bank has gone up by a “massive, massive” amount as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
She said:
“People in Starbeck are worried about the cost of living. A lot of people have limited income so numbers are growing.”
But with difficult times ahead, Ms Khanye believes Starbeck will stick together through choppy waters.
She added:
“I just like to see people enjoy the community where they live.
“Seeing families being able to support each other is massive. It would be a sad thing not to work here!”
Some of the events the cafe puts on.
The Living Room cafe in Starbeck recently reopened for the first time since the covid pandemic began almost two years ago.
The family-friendly café is run by Sarah Khanye and is situated inside the Life Destiny Church at 93b High Street.
It opens from Tuesday to Friday from 9am until 3pm and hosts a variety of events that aim to bring the community together with drinks, food and snacks available.
Events include a mum’s coffee morning on Mondays, a meeting for crafters on Wednesdays and a get-together for parents and carers of disabled children on Thursdays.
The Living Room Café also plans to host a Clothes Swap event on March 11 at 6.30pm.
Visit their Facebook page to find out more.
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