Care homes in Hadleigh and Earls Colne join national Warm Spaces initiative to help residents struggling with costs of heating bills

With the cost-of-living crisis leaving many households struggling to afford to keep the heating on, care homes are stepping in to help elderly residents stay warm over the winter.

Hadleigh Nursing Home and Colne House are among 28 Kingsley Healthcare facilities to sign up to the national Warm Spaces initiative, in response to the soaring cost of household energy bills.

Schools, libraries, museums and other public buildings around the country have joined the scheme, which was inspired by a social media post from money-saving expert Martin Lewis.

Mr Lewis wrote: “Can’t believe I’m writing this, but I wonder if, this winter, we will need ‘warm banks’ – the equivalent of food banks – where people who can’t afford heating are invited to spend their days, at no cost, with heating.”

To support the cause, the Kingsley services in Hadleigh and Earls Colne are inviting older people in their communities to drop in and stay warm, any time between 10.30am and 4pm each day.

Hot drinks, soup and a bread roll will also be offered to those who visit the homes around lunchtime.

Georgina Johnston, regional operations director at Kingsley Healthcare, said: “When we heard about the Warm Spaces initiative, we thought care homes would be great places to support it.

“Our staff are really looking forward to giving a warm welcome to anyone who comes along.

“We want them to feel at home, so we will be offering them papers to read and inviting them to take part in activities going on.

“We would just ask people to ring our homes beforehand and let them know they are coming.”

Heated facilities that are able to welcome members of the public over the winter period are encouraged to sign up to Warm Spaces, which also has the backing of local authorities.

Click here to register a community facility as a warm space, or to view a list of all locations which are currently taking part in the scheme.