Posted on: 9th January 2024

At the Leeds Compassionate City Awards, the The Warm Spaces 2022/23 scheme in Leeds, now called Welcome Spaces for winter 2023/24, was awarded Community Project of the Year, recognising the positive difference this has made to the city and its communities.  

Over 200 organisations stepped forward to become part of the Warm Space Project in Leeds in 2022/23, including all Leeds City Council Community Hubs and Libraries, faith-based, private and third sector. Third Sector and faith-based organisations were funded by The West Yorkshire Mayor’s Cost Of Living Emergency Fund and all locations offered opportunities for people to gather for free in a warm, safe, and welcoming space.  

The Warm Spaces project, now named Welcome Spaces, continues in 2023/24, was supported by a partnership between Leeds City Council and Voluntary Action Leeds, with support on the development of the programme from Wellsprings Together and Forum Central.  

Theo Sheridan-Watts, Chief Officer of Wellsprings Together, commented: “The Warm Spaces initiative showed the power of local communities to responding to a crisis. The support was critical not just in addressing the cost of living crisis but also in providing people with a place in their neighbourhood where they could be welcomed, known and belong."

Read the full article here.