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More than 80 welcoming spaces opening up in West Northants

James Grant/BBC Woman with long blonde hair and glasses stands in front of bottles of squash on shelvesJames Grant/BBC
Shelagh Chapman, manager of Renew169, said the welcoming spaces were "absolutely vital"

More than 80 "welcoming spaces" are opening up across part of a county to combat loneliness over the winter.

The West Northamptonshire spaces include cafés, village halls and community centres.

Users of one of the spaces say it has given them confidence and helped them feel less isolated.

The venues, formerly known as "warm spaces", were visited by nearly 53,000 people throughout last winter.

Renew169 in Towcester, set up by local churches in 2018 to help people with their mental health, was one of the successful bidders for grant funding to create a "welcoming space".

When the café is open, anyone can call in for a bowl of soup, funded by West Northamptonshire Council, and a listening ear.

Manager Shelagh Chapman said: "It's absolutely vital because people are really isolated at the moment, post-Covid and with the cost-of-living crisis as well.

"There are more and more people that are isolated and lonely - over the last 10 months, we've had 1,600 visits to the café."

James Grant/BBC Man with short dark hair and beard standing by a doorJames Grant/BBC
Will Rees said the café gave him the confidence to get a job

User Will Rees said the social side of the café helped him get a job.

"When I first came here, I was unemployed and the volunteers encouraged me to get a job - It's helped me be very positive in life, and given me lots of confidence," he said.

"I come here to help my mental health because, at the time, my mental health was in a really bad place, I can be shy and it's helped me come out of my shyness."

James Grant/BBC Six people sitting or standing around a table at a cafeJames Grant/BBC
Visitors to the café can take part in board games and other activities or just chat

Louise, who has been coming to the café for a while, is on long-term sick leave from work and waiting for treatment.

"For me, it was quite difficult because I'm quite a shy person, so to come into a place with strangers and introduce yourself, that's one of the real plusses because it's really welcoming, everybody accepts you, it's just a warm, friendly place."

West Northamptonshire Council's website has a directory of all the welcoming spaces across the area.

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