Winter Warm Space to continue in Long Eaton after further funding is secured

A weekly warm space which provides company, security, friendship and a hot meal in Long Eaton has secured additional funding to keep the initiative running for a further two years.

Speaking to Erewash Sound presenter Lewis Allsopp, at Community Christmas Live in the Tesco store on 7th December, Val explained more about the 'Together on Thursday' initiative: She said: "We have a lot of warm spaces in Long Eaton, in fact, one for every day of the week at a different location, but we're based at Trinity Church just next to Aldi.

"If people want to pop along on Thursdays from around 10:15am up to around 1:30pm, they will be made very welcome.  There will be lots of people to talk to, but if you don't want to talk to somebody, just read the paper. There is coffee, tea, biscuits, and, at 12noon, we serve a two-course hot meal, which is all home-made.  There is no charge. We welcome anybody, whoever you are, you will be welcome, so we just invite anybody to come along."

Sue does a lot of the cooking and said that a sausage casserole is a favourite and continued: "...chilli - not too spicy as some of our visitors are not too keen on spicy food - and jacket potato, all sorts of things and we are looking forward to cooking a Christmas lunch.  We make sure we've got gluten-free and vegetarian options available every week, and we have some wonderful puddings that are made by a bank of volunteers.   Meals have gravy and custard provided as applicable so that everybody is happy!"

Talking about expense, winter fuel payments, money and people being cold these days, Lewis said that he had been told that as many as 60 people come to see the club every week.  Val said: "It is such a mix of people, not all old, not all young people and they don't just come to get out of the cold but for company as well.  We started off with little tables and now we have big tables as people want to talk to each other."

Sue added: "We have had people that have suddenly been bereaved and have found themselves on their own, and haven't been out as they haven't wanted to do so, but they have come along to us, and they have made friends, and that is why the tables have got bigger, as people know each other, and they come and sit together and they have got company."

The 'Together on Thursday' sessions are held at Trinity Church on Cross Street, Long Eaton, just next door to ALDI, from the beginning of November 2024 to the end of April 2025.  The group has just secured funding from The National Lottery.   Sue said: "We've got funding to secure us for the next two years.  We've been very grateful for the funding received locally from Erewash Borough and Derbyshire County Councils for the last two years, but that Warm Space funding isn't necessarily so easily accessible, so Val worked really hard and has got us some lottery funding, which is brilliant."