Co-op Warm Spaces Funding Boost has provided £1,030 of match funding
Warm Havens Supporting Families
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
Our Warm Sanctuaries are a Service Providing Hot Meals, Fun, Games, and a Warm Space to Relax, Talk, and Make Friends Several Times a Week!
Our Warm Haven is a service providing hot meals and a warm space to relax, talk to trained staff and volunteers with regard to any mental or physical well-being concerns and overcome social anxiety.
We encourage social integration to help with social development and overcome social anxiety and help overcome the stigmatisation of having to use a Warm Haven by providing indirect talking therapy to assist with feeling comfortable whilst using the service and support with any mental health concerns. This will help with coming to terms with food poverty, the long and short-term effects on mental health and help save on bills.
The Warm Havens currently run three days a week, for three to four hours each day. There is seating for those that require a warm place to stay during distribution and eat their meal, and we provide hot drinks. Snacks will be available for those who do not require a meal. We would like to extend the time of our Warm Haven to offer more warm spaces and hot meals for those suffering from the cost of living crisis. Our service users are forced to make the decision to switch on the heating or provide a hot meal for themselves and their children. We make this decision easier by providing this warm space and hot meal for them.
We encourage children to attend and provide hot child-friendly meals for children, encourage them to participate in the fun and games we arrange, and encourage positive child development.
Our staff cook one hundred fresh warm meals on each distribution day, with a choice of halal and vegetarian options available. They cook well-balanced meals in accordance with the Eat Well guidelines and promote healthy eating by including a variety of vegetables, rice, pasta, and dairy, making sure there is a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fats, starchy foods, and fibre. We also make sure the food served is appropriate for cultural inclusion to our service users.
This project successfully funded on 28th March 2023