Open Door

The cost of living crisis is now a daily reality for significant numbers of households across the UK. Rising rents, spiralling energy bills and insufficient welfare support, alongside record high rates of inflation not seen in decades, mean more and more people are struggling to make ends meet.

One of the factors exacerbating this cost of living crisis is that we have lost so much of the informal support that we used to take for granted in the pre-pandemic years. The experience of isolation and the anxiety that people developed from being with other people has had considerable societal impact. In West Cumbria we have seen for example that varying social support groups that gave so much meaning to life, from the old to the young, have simply disappeared. Cubs, scouts, brownies, art groups, gym groups, and OAP groups have all suffered in their membership. And of course people are anxious about the war in Ukraine and climate change.

The scale of problems before us can seem insurmountable,  but it is better to light a candle than to curse the wind. At Christ the Good Shepherd parish we have been thinking of small ways by which we can contribute to the building up of our community in Workington. In the months leading up to Christmas we are starting a new initiative called ‘Open Door’, providing an opportunity for people to get together, to enjoy a warm welcome with free tea, coffee and refreshments and good company. It is a simple gesture but we hope that many people from the wider community will avail themselves of the hospitality that we seek to offer. We have registered our Open Door events on the local council’s Warm Spots initiative which is seeking to offer people a warm place to spend some time if they cannot afford to pay their heating bills.

Open Door takes place every Monday at St Gregory’s Church meeting room, Moorclose, at 9am; every Thursday at St Mary’s Catholic Church hall in Harrington at 10.45am; and every Friday at the Stella Maris Room, Banklands (just behind Our Lady’s & St Michael’s church) at 10am. Everyone is welcome, bring a friend.

The Open Door initiative has been granted a grant from Cumbria Community Foundation and their Warm Spots Fund.