A church in Lancashire is benefitting from extra funding to provide food and warm spaces for vulnerable people.
St Laurence’s Church in Chorley has already used the money from Lancashire County Council to help with supplies and heating and lighting the building.
Project administrator Jill Smith said: “The money that we’ve received as part of the warm spaces initiative has really helped.
“We’ve now applied for extra funding, and when I mentioned that to our treasurer, they said every little bit helps.
“Every bit of funding that we receive really does help.”
The church runs two projects, Open Table and Taste Café, which provide food and a place to stay warm.
They also act as a ‘community hub’ for people who may otherwise be isolated.
Sandra regularly visits St Laurence’s Church (Image: Supplied)
Sandra, who regularly visits the church, said: “It’s really hard as I don’t have a lot of family, a lot of them have passed away, so I have support now.
“If it wasn’t here then I’d just stay at home and be on my own.”
Taste Café volunteer Chris said: “A lot of the people are vulnerable so I think they would struggle financially and socially without this.
“They can come here, feel welcome and not feel excluded.
“It’s really important to have spaces like this.”
Jill and Chris from St Laurence’s Church outside Taste Cafe (Image: Supplied)
More than £70,000 has been committed so far to supporting Lancashire’s network of warm spaces.
Applications for the third round of funding will be accepted until Sunday, January 19.
Councillor Michael Green said: “As the team at St Laurence’s Church have outlined, our warm spaces are a vital part of the community and many friendships have been formed inside them.”