Map shows hundreds of North East hubs for people in need as campaign launched

A campaign has reminded people across the North East that they can find "a place of warmth and connection" wherever they live this winter and throughout the year.

The Warm Welcome campaign has launched Warm Welcome Week today, Monday January 20, to help raise awareness of thousands of spaces people can go across the UK when they're in need of a warm, welcoming and safe space. The hubs are particularly there for anyone who cannot afford to heat their home, or those experiencing loneliness.

There are now more than 5,000 spaces across the country registered with the Warm Welcome campaign, including across all areas of the North East in Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland and County Durham. But while research shows that more than six in 10 people in the UK live within a 30-minute walk of a Warm Welcome Space, just 20% are aware of their nearest one.

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Warm Welcome Week launches on the day known as 'Blue Monday', which typically falls on the third Monday in January and is associated with feelings of sadness, low motivation, and a lack of energy. It's hoped that the campaign will help raise awareness of Warm Welcome Spaces, with visitors encouraged to wear warm colours and get creative with pinks, oranges, reds, and purples to show their support.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is the founding patron of the Warm Welcome campaign, said: "In the darkest and coldest times, Warm Welcome Spaces offer communities a chain of hope. Without these community spaces, people would be at home with the heating off - and thus alone and in the cold. They offer more than just the warmth of heating, but the warmth of friendship.

"I want everyone to experience the joy of human warmth this winter at a local Warm Welcome Space. Join me in supporting Warm Welcome Week and spreading the word so that everyone knows there's a Warm Welcome Space close to home. Together we can make every community a warmer, friendlier, and more hopeful place."

The Warm Welcome website has a helpful interactive map where you can search for your local Warm Welcome Space, with details of what's on offer and opening times. All spaces are free to enter, and offer refreshments such as tea and coffee in a heated building as well as the chance to meet and talk to others.

The map shows hundreds of Warm Welcome spaces across the North East region, from more than a dozen in Newcastle to hubs as far north as Belford and Wooler in Northumberland, all the way down to the likes of Durham city centre, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees. Many of the spaces are child-friendly and offer free WiFi, as well as books, magazines, games and toys.