The bar tackling loneliness in Kent
They open their doors every Tuesday to the community
A bar in Kent is opening its doors to the community in an attempt to battle loneliness.
The City Wall wine bar in Medway, Rochester, joined the Chatty Cafe Scheme last year, which encourages strangers to grab a table with each other, and just chat about anything.
However, with limited success, they decided to change their approach and now in 2024, they are welcoming charities, groups and businesses to use their space for free.
Many have already began visiting on a Tuesday, and Sarah, who spearheads the idea, believes people are already seeing the benefit.
"We welcome new mums , via a breast feeding support group, to come have a coffee and lunch"
"In the baby care unit, they can become very comfortable, with a real sense of community but then they are discharged and all of a sudden you have a new human in your house and you start thinking 'what do I do now?
"Then by visiting us they can have a chat with each other, share their experiences."
They also support charities, such as Advocacy for Adults, which is an autism support group, who offer a plethora of services such supporting over 18's needing to find jobs.
On Tuesday, they sometimes meet at the same time as a business networking group and by doing this, people using the charity have secured work placement or jobs with companies meeting at City Wall.
The service is already having an impact and Sarah has urged people to use their space
"In person interaction is so important and I think for a brief moment we lost it but now it's about establishing what it looks like now it's back.
" Businesses need to have that local interaction and by adding that human face, in a relaxed space such as ours can do so much.