Inside the UK's warm banks where people go to escape the cold

euronews.com:

“Knowing that people were out there in the cold, we just couldn't bear it. We had to do something”, Kim Griffiths told Euronews.

She is a volunteer at one of the thousands of warm banks that have sprung up around the UK offering people a space where they can escape freezing homes.

Every Tuesday, Kim and her fellow volunteers open the doors of Elim Pentecostal Church in Worthing, West Sussex, to the public so they can get warm.

Alongside a heated space, they provide warm soup, tea, coffee -- and the odd biscuit -- to anyone who comes to the centre. There is also a projection on the back wall of a large crackling fire, to reinforce the message of warmth. 

“People around here are really struggling because of the financial climate,” said Andrew Fadoju, a church minister who helps run the warm space.

“We are very worried about the poorer families out there”.

Elim’s warm bank is a grim testament to the hefty impact of the cost of living crisis in Britain.

Wintry weather hit for the first time last week, with large parts of the country carpeted in snow and ice as temperatures plummeted well below freezing.

For some, the wintry weather was a festive treat. For others, a source of dread.

Energy bills in Britain have leapt by more than 80% this year – one of the highest rates in Europe – forcing people to make impossible choices between heating their homes or eating, according to experts.

And it is predicted to get worse.

An estimated 8.4 million British households will be in fuel poverty from April 2023, according to National Energy Action.

The idea of a space where people could escape freezing cold homes was almost unknown a few months ago. But now they are dotted all over Britain’s towns and cities.

Elim is one of nearly 3,400 warm banks