Spaces for being together — the Warm Welcome
For the past 3 weeks I’ve been spending my Wednesday’s afternoons at St Peters church, enjoying the company of other De Beauvoir[1] residents. The group started gathering back in December last year (2022) when the church offered a heated space for the community in face of the cold weather and the cost of living crises. The winter went past, spring arrived, and people were keen to keep the space going, not with the heaters on anymore, but still with a warm and welcoming feel.
I’m not religious, but during the time that I‘ve been living in De Beauvoir I became a aware of St Peters church and their openness to the community, through either delivering or hosting activates that shows commitment and consideration towards the local residents and to the wider concerns we face as a society — activities that are both faith related or not (you can read more about St Peters Social Justice pledge in their website).
Despite my familiarity with the St Peters, when I first decided to go to the Warm Welcome, I was still slightly wary about going across the set of doors into the main church hall. I had seen the posters saying that everybody was welcomed, but who would actually be in there? Would I feel comfortable amongst strangers? Would I feel comfortable being in the church hall as a non-religious person? My fear only lasted for a second or two, as upon entering the space I was greeted with big smiles, I was immediately offered a cup of tea and a seat next to another lady. I felt indeed incredibly welcomed and throughout the afternoon.
So I went back on the following week, slightly at a later time (the space is open from 12–5pm) and again that nice feeling of sharing the space with my neighbours. A space that is just simply there, with a basic infra-structure of table and chairs, kitchenware (plates, cutlery, mugs) and some board games. Volunteers help with the setup and people might bring food and snacks to be shared amongst all. Yesterday was a busy day, we were in 16 adults + 2 toddlers + 2 dogs (mine included). We merged 2 tables together so we could all fit around it, snacking, sharing stories, doing crafts, or just simple being quiet observing.
Being in that space has been very inspiring. A space that has no specific purpose (not anymore since the heating is not needed). A space that is just there to accommodate whoever decides to come in, whenever they feel like it, and for people to be however they want to be. The church hall feels like the neighbourhood’s living room. And people come because they enjoy being amongst their neighbours, tapping into the joy that human connection brings to us.
Seeing how powerful a space like this can be, and also seeing the desire people have to be together with other people — even if they are initially complete strangers — supported my decision to focus my Master’s major project in exploring ways to support neighbourliness[2] within De Beauvoir, not only to improve resident’s well-being, but also to start creating a more resilient community as a whole.
For that, and based on the Design Justice framework, I am particularly interested in identifying and valuing assets and resources we already hold in the community. For that I am starting to research about the Warm Welcome collective and individual experiences. However, this line of research sparks ethical concerns. As someone who is not only a researcher but also a member of that community, one of the challenges I am facing now is how to ensure transparency of my intentions so I can establish an ethical conduct for my research and communication with participants. In this case, the participants are the people who take part on the Warm Welcome, and whose knowledge and experience would add a lot of value to my research.
Some of the questions I’d like to explore for now are:
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Collective experience
- What originally motivated the setup of the Warm Welcome?
- Were there any initial barriers to setting up the Warm Welcome? Are there any barriers/issues the Warm Welcome is facing now?
- What motivates you individually, and as a group, to keep the Warm Welcome going?
- Were there any changes in the way the Warm Welcome is run since it started in December 2022? If so, what changed, why and what were the outcomes?
- Are there any plans or desires for the future of the Warm Welcome?
- Is there any way that my research could contribute towards the present or future of the Warm Welcome?
Individual experience
- Why do you come to the Warm Welcome?
- How did you learn about it?
- What do you like about it? Anything you don’t like?
- What’s the impact that coming to this space had/have in your life, if any?
- How do you see the impact of this space within the wider community, if any?
I would love to hear from you if you have any comments on the above, any other questions I should add? Or elements I could explore in that space?
[1] De Beauvoir is a Hackney ward (London) where I’ve been living in for the past eight years.
[2] Neighbourliness being defined by the Oxford Learners Dictionaries as a “friendly and helpful behaviour, especially between people who live near each other”.
