Two Dumbarton churches have started up warm hubs to combat the cost of living crisis – with a Reverend describing how “overwhelmed” he was at the donations received to make it possible.
St Augustine’s Church and St Patrick’s Church, which are within five minutes of each other, are both running warm-hubs for locals struggling with paying their energy bills.
St Augustine’s Church recently held a coffee morning to raise money for a new heating system so they could continue to support those vulnerable in the local area for the next few years.
They managed to raise a whopping £2500, meaning they could introduce a new heating system for the church, which will last for around five years.
Rev Heller Gonzalez, who moved to the Dumbarton parish after working in areas including Kilmacolm, has hailed the area for its generosity, he said: “We need to do our part for the community. It is not something new.
“Our hall has been a warm hub for all of the recovery groups and such for some time.
“However, now officially on Wednesdays from 11am to 2pm with Food for Thought, our hall becomes a warm hub alongside our kitchen soup day on a Friday from 11am to 2pm. This is for everyone in the community.
“In my 10 years as a priest, it is the first time I have seen a sum of around £2500 being donated off the back of a coffee morning. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Dumbarton.
“I used to serve in Kilmacolm for five years, and it is a very different community to Dumbarton. It is a very affluent community. However, I am always overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Dumbarton. Working-class people being as generous as they are, is amazing. The support they show is far more than that of Kilmacolm.
“I am forever humbled by the response of the people of Dumbarton.”
It comes after the Lennox Herald reported how Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) decided to open up an area of their Station Road unit as a warm hub after staff noticed people were hanging around longer to avoid going back to their cold houses.
Ghislaine Kennedy, who runs the community soup initiative on Fridays in St Augustine’s, has spoken about how vital the warm hubs have been for the community.
She said: “We are always pretty busy, you’re talking around 40 people every time.
“We are getting a mix of people coming from elderly people to younger folk. I am quite amazed at how it has taken off.
“It is sad that we do have to do things like this, but it is just the reality. We need to do our bit to help the community because those few hours that people spend here means a few hours where they don’t have to use their gas and electricity, alongside being fed.”
St Patrick’s Church is also running a warm hub from Monday to Wednesday between 11am to 4pm.
Parish Priest Canon Gerard Conroy has spoken on why they thought it was necessary to start one.
He said: “We started the warm hub because of the rising energy costs, and we thought that there may be some people who would benefit from it.
“The uptake has been quiet, but there are around seven or so people that use it regularly.
“I think people are benefiting from it, it’s not something that you ask about, but rather you gauge it if they continue to make use of it, but it is still early days.”
