“As these warm hubs grow, the amount of volunteers grow, but the need is also growing”

Warm hubs are opening up across Caerphilly County Borough. The Local Democracy Reporting Service’s Rhiannon James, who is based at Caerphilly Observer, visited Caerphilly Miners’ Centre for the Community – which is offering itself as a warm hub.

Glen Travers first attended the Caerphilly Miners’ hub four weeks ago because he had been struggling with his mental health.

Mr Travers said: “I had been caring for my father for 15 years and I got out of the loop of interactions with people. Coming here has really built my confidence by just speaking to people.

“But, when I first came I was so worried what people would think.”

Mr Travers said he would encourage anyone feeling a bit nervous to “just turn up”.

Dave Street, social services director at Caerphilly County Borough Council, said: “There’s absolutely no need for people to feel embarrassed or intimidated. People are here for different reasons, and we are here for them.”

Mr Street added: “We lost a lot of community groups through Covid so what we want to do with these groups is keep them going throughout the year.

“It’s community, it’s something to do. They have the potential to grow into something more than what we have at the moment. This will be a challenge – they cost money and are run by volunteers – but there are some real opportunities here.”

Currently there are 45 hubs – or “welcoming spaces” – across Caerphilly County Borough which are run by the council and an army of community volunteers.

Caerphilly Miners’ Centre is led by Katherine Hughes who said she expected to see some new faces over the next few months an increasing number of people attending.

Volunteer Ruth Condron said: “One woman, last week, came in because it was just a chance to get out of the house for an hour or two. She had soup, a mince pie, and a chat.”

Ms Condron also said she herself enjoyed coming to the hub because it is an opportunity to speak in Cymraeg.

John Jasper runs the digital Fridays club at the centre, which gives advice and help to those with electronic devices.

Some warm hubs, such as the one at Caerphilly Miners’ Centre, offer additional activities such as arts and crafts or tech advice – in addition to free hot drinks and a warm space.

Mr Jasper said: “In these situations we deal with the computers, and then we’ll have a chat about something completely different- so it’s just nice to socialise.”

Another volunteer, Fran Mantle said: “The hub doesn’t feel like it’s geared towards one group with the digital and the mother and baby group  – it’s open to everybody. It’s a family community.”

All of the welcoming spaces are free to use and include libraries, community centres, church halls, sports clubs and other community spaces.

In September, the Welsh Government announced £1 million of funding to support hubs across Wales.

Jane Hutt MS is the Welsh Government’s minister for social justice. She is encouraging everybody to attend a warm hub in their area and said: “In all the hubs there is warmth and food, there is community and advice.”

The minister added: “The thing about the warm hubs – especially in Caerphilly – is that many people will find that friends, or neighbours, will also be going.

“What we want is a hub for anyone, you don’t have to be in need, they’re places you can go just to spend time in.

Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, Sean Morgan said: “As these warm hubs grow, the amount of volunteers grow, but the need is also growing.

“People are very much feeling they are on a bit of a war-like footing with the pandemic and cost of living crisis, so it’s about creating that community feeling again.”

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