Birmingham Warm Welcome: An approach to providing warm spaces.

‘Warm Spaces’ are being set up all over the UK offering local people safe places to keep warm this winter. In Birmingham we are keen that our approach to warm spaces is dignified and avoids stigma and shame that is often associated with poverty and financial difficulty. Birmingham Warm Welcome is different from the national ‘Warm Welcome’ campaign and organisations are free to sign up for both.

Birmingham Warm Welcome brings the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sectors with Birmingham City Council together in a joint response to the cost-of-living crisis.

The Ask

Birmingham Warm Welcome partners recognise that there is already a wealth of existing assets and activity within the city, and we want to help connect the people of Birmingham to this. If you already provide this type of space, we are asking that you register for Birmingham Warm Welcome so that we may include you in our Warm Welcome directory. This will enable our communities to find how to access a Warm Welcome near to them.

Each Warm Welcome space will be:

• Free - Warm Welcome spaces will be free with no hidden costs. If there is a charge for any of your services, activities, or provision, even if it is ‘pay what you can afford’ or ‘ask for donations’, this must be explicitly clear. All spaces offering a Warm Welcome must be free to enter.
• Warm - Warm Welcome spaces are heated (recommended 18ºC-21 ºC) and able to provide basic refreshments such as tea and coffee where possible.
• Welcoming - Warm Welcome spaces are inclusive, non-judgmental, confidential spaces where everyone can expect a warm welcome from staff/volunteers and also the opportunity for visitors to participate. They will be able to provide basic signposting information to people who need further support and help.
• Safe - Every Warm Welcome space will have appropriate insurance cover in place, abide by their usual safeguarding and health and safety policies and appropriate food and hygiene rules.
• Consistent – Open and accessible consistently for the days/hours advertised each week
• The approach is very much based on Places of Welcome which many churches already host but Birmingham Warm Welcome also wants to include activities for specific groups such as activities for adults, children or young people so long as they meet the criteria above.

Community and faith organisations are asked to sign up to our charter and register their activity at https://forms.office.com/r/BTiuqhfZVz

For further information or support please contact the Thrive team through Fred Rattley fredr@cofebirmingham.com or Louise White LouiseW@thrivetogetherbham.org