Yorkshire Coast warm rooms to re-open to help with energy bills
Charities will welcome people back as the weather gets colder
A warm room in Scarborough is set to re-open at the end of this month to help with energy bills, as the weather becomes colder.
Age UK North Yorkshire Coast and Moors said last year they had:
• 121 warm room sessions from 1st Oct 2022 to 24th Feb 2023
• 718 hours of warmth
• 162 total visitors
• 90 blankets and hot water bottles given away to clients
Neil Bradbury, Chief Executive, said: "We even had a couple who got together by being in the warm room, so for lots of people it wasn't just about somewhere hot to keep themselves warm, it was about companionship and friendship. We're going to do it again this year and we're going to hopefully help people make connections and stave off the heating bills.
"It was lovely to see. People were coming in and we could help them with other things because they started talking to us and engaging with us. So many people in the community rallied around as well with shops bringing biscuits, teabgs, coffee, meals and snacks.
"There were people in there who were really struggling to choose between heating or eating. They were struggling to pay their bills and so if they can come in for a few hours in the day then that really does help a little bit.
"This situation hasn't gone away. It was more in the news last year, the world moves on and other things happen, but people's energy bills haven't substantially dropped in the meantime, so there's still this problem. There are problems about rising prices across the board for people. We're looking at opening a warm room in Filey as well."