The Royal Borough of Greenwich have offered a pledge of around £100,000 which would be able to fund groups in the community. This would help open Welcome Spaces for residents who have problems and face both social isolation and increased bills for fuel during difficult and unenviable times.
This whole project is part of an even bigger investment of around £10million which has gone into organisations such as Greenwich Supports, looking into detail with the job which the Council has with trying to fix and solve the Cost-of-Living Crisis as well as helping the people most affected by this.
For this years events and activities, the Borough council has taken on advice from many residents and will be offering free activities, refreshments, WI-FI as well as the opportunity to gain access support for residents who struggle with increased costs due to the Cost-of-Living crisis. In addition, following what had happened the previous winter, grassroot groups in the area and community centres will welcome the creation of Warms Spaces to form part of the Greenwich Supports programme.
The reactions of local councillors and politicians in Greenwich:
Anthony Okereke who is Leader of the Council stated: “We are proud to be able to offer £100,000 in Greenwich Supports finding to help community centres and grassroot organisations open Welcoming Spaces in time for winter. Through this finding will be able to continue co-operative working within local communities, as well as helping new schemes establish themselves for the first time.
“While we are all too aware of the financial struggles many are facing with rising fuel bills, key findings from our cost of living campaign show that connecting residents to support systems and access to good advice is just as important as financial support in allowing them to improve their situation.”
Mariam Lolavar who is a local Councillor and Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, Business and Skills stated: “A key focus of our Greenwich Supports funded Welcoming Spaces is to give residents a friendly place they can go to meet new people. Our borough is blessed with a fantastic sense of community, but not everybody finds it easy to make new connections – that’s where Welcoming Spaces come in.
“We hope by funding initiatives like these we can tackle loneliness, improve mental health and wellbeing and create strong bonds within our communities so that we can meet their needs and address challenges together.”
Eligibility for funding includes the following:
- Access to a venue with enough room for at least 15 visitors for a single time
- At least six hours per week of Welcoming Space provision
- An activity or event throughout the week that is suitable for the attendees of the Welcoming Space
- Good heating, seating, free Wi-Fi, plug sockets and light refreshments (e.g., drinking water, hot and cold drinks, fruit)
- Advice or support on offer, or willingness to welcome advice and signposting services by LiveWell Greenwich.
Two workshops are to be hosted with additional help from MetroGavs (Greenwich Action for Voluntary Service) and these are to help with applications for funding:
- Workshop 1: 2pm to 3pm 6 September
- Workshop 2: 10.30 to 11.30am on 7 September
To be able to download for all application forms and finding complete guidance for all activities about the event, the link for this is below:
The final date for submissions is due for Wednesday 20 September 2023.
