Teesdale’s Best Social Enterprise

Storm Arwin left parts of Cockfield and surrounding areas without electricity for nearly 10 days. As Cockfield is not on mains gas, hundreds of households were left without heating, hot water and power.

The team at YMCA Teesdale mobilised their resources, providing a warm space where locals could get hot food, access WiFi, charge devices and refill flasks of hot water as well as helping to keep the community updated on the situation as it progressed. Cockfield’s Community Café is now listed as a safe space for future power outages and has been placed on standby during subsequent storms.

As well as providing a hearty array of food, YMCA’s Community Café in Cockfield delivers a Baby and Toddler Group, a Senior Lunch Club and provides computers and printers available to help everyone get online. During school holidays the café is transformed into a space for youth activities.

In recognition of the work the team have done in helping to reduce social isolation, supporting people with food parcels and helping people to access the benefits system (in addition to the support offered during Storm Arwen) YMCA Community Café has recently been recognised with an award: “Teesdale’s Best Social Enterprise”.