Statistical highlights for April 2022 to March 2023 include:
A total of 589 sessions delivered by 16 Places of Welcome, with the number of sessions delivered per quarter growing from 20% of the total for the year in Q1 to 32% in Q4.
Community member guest attendances totalling 9,517 for the year.
An overall age range in guest attendance of 0 to 90+ years.
A total of 5,493 volunteering hours contributed to running Places of Welcome sessions.
10% of Places of Welcome volunteers in Lichfield District were former guests.
This was the list of Places of Welcome for the last financial year (albeit that some, unfortunately, opened and closed within a few months):
Burntwood Library (Friends of Burntwood Library)
Christ Church PofW at Martin Heath Hall
Curborough Community Centre (St Chad's)
Curborough Community Centre (Lichfield Cares Good Neighbour Scheme LCGNS - Mondays)
Curborough Community Centre (LCGNS - Thursdays - Chat & Craft)
Handsacre Methodist Church (reopened 14/04/2022 post closure due to building works)
Lichfield Library
Life Church Lunch Club
St Anne's, Chasetown (Burntwood)
St John's Community Church Drop Inn Café
St Stephen's, Fradley Wednesday Welcome
NEW St Michael's at Lichfield Community Fire Station - opened 10/11/22 and closed 26/01/23
NEW Curborough Community Association at Cruck House - opened 30/10/22 and closed 30/04/23
NEW Lichfield Cathedral, College Hall - opened 14/11/2022 and closed 03/04/2023
NEW Whittington Village Hall - opened 10/01/2023
NEW Holy Cross Catholic Parish Church, Lichfield - opened 29/11/2022
Other news:
We (Places of Welcome) worked closely with David Primrose to co-ordinate and support the local community response to the national "warm spaces" campaign for the winter of 2022/23, as members of the Lichfield & District Warm Welcome campaign.
Places of Welcome continue to work closely with social prescribers, community mental health teams, PCSOs, food banks, clothes banks and other agencies and organisations that support the most vulnerable and socially isolated amongst us.
The Lichfield Garrick decided to extend its winter "warm space" to run all year round and joined the Places of Welcome network in June, becoming the first theatre nationally to do so!
Places of Welcome are supported locally by Lesley Bovington. Lesley's post, alongside those of her team colleagues, has now moved from the Transforming Communities Together charity to sit directly in the Diocesan staffing team, renamed as the Strengthening Communities Team. To quote Julie Jones, Diocesan CEO: "The Strengthening Communities team of the Diocese of Lichfield works to resource parishes to develop further work that supports mission and ministry in local communities, building on the Diocesan Shaping for Mission process and our focus on living out the 5 Marks of Mission in word and action. The team has core work streams in areas including Places of Welcome, Dementia-Friendly Church, Enabling All and Mental Health & Wellbeing. Its mission is to partner with others, seeking the common good, working for justice as people of hope, so that communities may flourish and those who are vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged might enjoy life in its fullness. We are linked to the Church Urban Fund’s Together Network, working in partnership with similar organisations and teams across England, including on initiatives such as Places of Welcome." The Diocese has further demonstrated its commitment to the team's work by creating the new, substantive post of Strengthening Communities Enabler. Carrie Blount, former Places of Welcome Facilitator for the Black Country, returned to the team in June to take up this role, which will combine working alongside Lesley to support Places of Welcome with enabling the work of the team, as a whole.
Funding has also been received from the NHS Charities Together Community Partnerships Grants Scheme towards Places of Welcome in Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent, with a view to supporting and growing the network in the Stoke area, especially. Lesley was delighted to secure the registration of Stoke City FC's "Stoke Social" group to the Places of Welcome network in June, another first nationally (the first football club to become a Place of Welcome).
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