Gordon Brown calls for help extending 'chain of hope' Warm Welcome project

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched the yearly Warm Welcome appeal, which has helped hundreds of thousands who are struggling to vigor their homes implicit the winter

Gordon Brown says helium hopes everyone successful the UK volition soon beryllium successful casual walking region of a lukewarm spot they tin spell erstwhile temperatures plummet.

The erstwhile Prime Minister has launched the yearly Warm Welcome appeal, which sees hundreds of buildings including places of worship, sports halls and libraries, propulsion their doors open. He said without the initiative, which was acceptable up 2 years ago, thousands of radical would person been stuck astatine location with the heating off.

It comes arsenic energy bills are acceptable to soar by 10% this winter, portion millions are acceptable to suffer their Winter Fuel Payments erstwhile these go means-tested. Mr Brown said the project, supported by The Mirror, is simply a captious lifeline, giving radical a accidental to conscionable successful lukewarm places successful their communities.

He wrote: "What started arsenic an thought to get america done the vigor situation has present go a nationalist instauration for present and the years ahead. But arsenic idiosyncratic who was progressive from the outset erstwhile Warm Welcome was archetypal conceived, and present seeing the symptom of heating bills rising yet again, with possibly different emergence connected January 1, I cognize we present request to to bash much this winter."

Scroll down to work Gordon Brown's file astir the project

Last wintertime astir 4,000 lukewarm spaces hosted 120,000 visitors a week - and hosted 4.5million visits. Mr Brown said: "Today astir 2 successful each 3 citizens are wrong 30 minutes of a Warm Welcome Space successful their community.

"But that's not bully enough: truthful present we person acceptable ourselves a caller ngo for 2024 and 2025 - to guarantee that 100% of the colonisation has entree to a Warm Welcome Space wrong walking region successful their section community."

'We are creating a concatenation of anticipation to bring retired the champion successful Britain

By Gordon Brown

If you're acold oregon lonely successful the wintertime months up and are being deed hard by the 10 per cent emergence successful state and energy bills from October 1, an innovative caller foundation is stepping up to connection you some the warmth of heating - and the warmth of friendship.

From tiny beginnings 2 years ago, and with the aboriginal enactment of The Mirror, Warm Welcome has already go 1 of the astir palmy assemblage initiatives. Last wintertime successful places of worship, libraries, museums, sports halls, assemblage centres, and section authorities, Warm Welcome Spaces supported 120,000 visitors a week, and successful full 4000 lukewarm invited spaces crossed the state person hosted 4.5 cardinal visits wherever radical tin travel escaped of complaint and bask the heat.

Over 50% of the guests said that without the spaces, they would person been astatine location with the heating disconnected - and frankincense unsocial and successful the cold. And they told america it wasn't conscionable the heating that made a difference—these spaces had a profound interaction connected their regular lives, reducing their isolation and loneliness.

And that is wherefore Warm Welcome Spaces person present go all-year-round gathering places for radical to talk, entertain each different and beryllium entertained, and to find friendships they ne'er had before. What started arsenic an thought to get america done the vigor situation has present go a nationalist instauration for present and the years ahead.

But arsenic idiosyncratic who was progressive from the outset erstwhile Warm Welcome was archetypal conceived, and present seeing the symptom of heating bills rising yet again, with possibly different emergence connected January 1, I cognize we present request to bash much this winter.

Today astir 2 successful each 3 citizens are wrong 30 minutes of a Warm Welcome Space successful their community. But that's not bully enough: truthful present we person acceptable ourselves a caller ngo for 2024 and 2025: to guarantee that 100% of the colonisation has entree to a Warm Welcome Space wrong walking region successful their section community.

And to marque our connection of invited real, we will, this year, purpose to guarantee that alternatively of conscionable 1 successful 5 radical knowing wherever to find their section space, everyone volition person the accidental to cognize what is connected offer. Too often radical surviving broadside by broadside successful the aforesaid communities ne'er meet, speech to each different oregon are adjacent introduced to each other.

Now we person a mode we tin link with each different and larn from and assistance each other. A fewer weeks ago, successful July, during the tallness of summer, I spoke astatine a roundtable led by CEO David Barclay with representatives from energy utilities and different companies, who pledged their resources to guarantee that Warm Welcome Spaces tin beryllium decently heated and financially supported.

Now, a increasing conjugation of partners—representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy—are moving unneurotic to marque a world of much lukewarm invited spaces. What we are creating is thing little than what I telephone a concatenation of anticipation - Warm Welcome Spaces successful each assemblage and neighbourhood, linked to further spaces crossed the country, each bringing radical together.

Everyone has a relation to play, arsenic supporters oregon partners - whether arsenic the supplier of spaces, the unpaid astatine the spaces oregon the funders of the spaces. And moving together, we tin thrust retired the worst of Britain by bringing retired the champion successful Britain, unlocking the powerfulness of the assemblage and creating a much profoundly connected society.