Westminster City Council relaunched its ‘Winter in the City’ campaign, which will provide an additional £100k to the existing £19m cost of living package.
The £100k will support community centres and local venues, providing residents with food and free activities.
The programme promotes free activities such as cooking classes, arts and crafts, pilates, and table tennis in warm and safe environments across the city for local people.
Community centres and libraries across the borough are opening their doors, including Westminster Libraries, North Paddington Food Bank, Westbourne Park Baptist Church, The Abbey Centre, Emmanuel Church and Mary Smith’s Pantry.
Thomas Delap, Head of North Paddington Foodbank, said: “Westminster Council’s support has enabled us to respond effectively to the urgent needs of our community and offer a lifeline to those struggling to navigate the challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis.
“Over the course of this year, we extended support to 11,339 households, guiding them through the many challenges brought about by the cost-of-living crisis.”
Last year the council launched its cost-of-living strategy to help households in Westminster, of which 31,000 acutely feel the effects of a living standards crisis due to high costs of energy bills and food.
Throughout last year, the council has funded several initiatives directly supporting Westminster residents.
The initiatives they have supported are a hardship fund, free school meals and discounted uniforms, energy vouchers, and Discretionary Housing Payments.
Councillor David Boothroyd, Cabinet Member for Finance and Council Reform said: “Our Winter in the City programme will offer what people need in these difficult times.
“We are working with out communities and businesses in the city to ensure no one in Westminster goes hungry or cold this winter.”
Photo credit: Donna Spearman on Unsplash
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