Community Spaces made by and for everyone

The Warm Welcome Story

The Warm Welcome Campaign is beginning a new chapter. What started as a crisis response to keep people warm through the winter has blossomed into a movement to reconnect individuals and communities across the country all year round. The Warm Welcome Campaign and local spaces have created what former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown calls a ‘Chain of Hope.’ Warm Welcome Spaces are places full of human warmth, belonging, connection and hope. Thousands of lives are being touched by Warm Welcome Spaces - they are the heartbeat of local communities, buzzing with life and bringing people together. 

Last winter, Warm Welcome Spaces hosted two million visits across 4,000 spaces. On average, Warm Welcome Spaces hosted over 120,000 visitors every week.

The Warm Welcome Campaign is delivered in collaboration with the network of Warm Welcome Spaces and a coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy.

“It is one thing for Warm Welcome to have supported a crisis response last winter. But to see the way that this movement has developed, speaks to something deeper and more significant - the potential that often lies latent in our communities. By harnessing this potential, Warm Welcome now has the opportunity to start to change the culture of this country, beginning to turn the tide on both poverty and isolation and connecting indivduals and communities."  

Gordon Brown Headshot

Right Honourable Gordon Brown

Former Prime Minister

Over 14.4 million people live in poverty in the UK and 7% of people experience chronic loneliness

It is estimated that disconnected communities could cost the UK economy £32 billion every year

Warm Welcome Spaces have a profound impact on loneliness, isolation, and mental wellbeing. Our research shows that 84% of people who join a Warm Welcome Space say it helps them have a stronger sense of belonging to their community. With disconnected communities costing the UK economy almost £32 billion a year, this is clear evidence that Warm Welcome is changing lives.
By working together, we can unlock the power of community spaces made by and for everyone, creating a thriving network of hope and reconnection fuelled by human warmth.
Laying the table at a Warm Welcome Space

Our Purpose and Vision

The Warm Welcome Campaign wants everyone in the UK to find a place of belonging and reconnection. Our vision is to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.
We resource, connect and champion a network of Warm Welcome Spaces and bring together 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 fuelled by human warmth.
Preparing food at a Warm Welcome SpaceTwo ladies enjoying a Warm Welcome Space

Warm Welcome Spaces

Warm Welcome Spaces are places of belonging, where new friendships are forged, and where people feel valued. Most Warm Welcome Spaces are open all year round. We want to make sure that everyone can find a welcoming place of belonging and reconnection close to their home.

Warm Welcome Spaces come in all shapes and sizes, from libraries, community centres, faith-based spaces to cafes, sports centres, businesses, museums, and so many more. But what they all have in common is that they are all places of belonging, where new friendships are forged, and where people feel valued.

Warm Welcome Icon - community
Warm Welcome icon - Calendar

Warm Welcome began as a seasonal campaign supporting communities through the coldest time of the year. It's now an all year round campaign, bringing connection, friendship, and human warmth to communities every day, helping people feel less isolated and lonely and boosting wellbeing.  

How we work

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.

But right now, not everyone can find a Warm Welcome Space close to home. We want to change this so there are more Warm Welcome Spaces, and everyone can find a welcoming place of belonging and reconnection in their neighbourhood.

Warm Welcome Icon - Welcoming

Supporting Spaces

We resource, connect and champion a growing network of over 4,000 Warm Welcome Spaces. Together, these spaces create a chain of hope right across the UK, bringing people together and helping them feel more connected with their community. 

Warm Welcome icon - Community

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.

Working in partnership

The Warm Welcome Campaign brings together the 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. Warm Welcome was co-created and built on partnership. Collaboration is at the heart of all we do, and Partners play a vital role in delivering Warm Welcome’s Strategy. Alongside ongoing engagement, partners have an open invitation to join our Monthly Partners Meeting. By working together, we can pool our experience and knowledge and bring this into the design and strategy for our work.

If you would like to partner with Warm Welcome, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact David Barclay

Our second year

Warm Welcome has had an even more significant impact on individuals, almost doubling the number of people who say they always or often feel positive about their future. This year, Warm Welcome Spaces hosted two million visits. And around 120,000 people found places of connection in their community every week.

50500

people used our Warm Welcome Space online map to find a space

2000000

visits to Warm Welcome Spaces over the Winter

120000

individual visits to Warm Welcome Spaces every week

“When faced with crisis and despair, the community response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis has been nothing short of heroic.”
David Barclay - Warm Welcome Campaign Director

David Barclay

Warm Welcome Campaign Director

“To have spaces like this where people can come, there’s no stigma, there’s a warm welcome...it’s fantastic.”
Michael Sheen visits a Warm Welcome Space

Michael Sheen

Actor

“I’ve felt loneliness; I think we all might have in recent years. To me Warm Welcome Spaces are a crucial part of the answer for our increasingly lonely society.”

Annie Macmanus

DJ, broadcaster and writer

Our Impact

In the first two years of operation, over 50% of respondents to Warm Welcome surveys told us that without the spaces, they would have been at home with the heating off. But it was not only the physical warmth that made a difference. Warm Welcome Spaces make such a difference to people’s lives, with 84% of guests saying that coming to the space has given them a stronger sense of belonging to their local community. And 87% say that being at the space has improved their mental health and wellbeing.

Most people visiting Warm Spaces say what they love about them is the opportunity to make new friends. This year, 84% of visitors said they came to the Warm Welcome Space to connect with others. Being at the space has a huge impact on people’s lives. 63% of visitors said they always or often felt happy about their lives, up from 32% who said the same thing before they visited a space. And 61% said they always or often have a positive outlook since coming to a space, up from 27% before visiting.

Spaces bring people together and make them feel less isolated and alone. 70% of guests say that since coming to a Warm Welcome Space they now never or rarely feel isolated. It all starts by sharing a cuppa.

Can you help run a Warm Welcome Space?

Contact us

Have a question? Get in touch with us!

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