Following on from the great work of our Social Work student , who set up a Camerados Public Living Room event in May this year , Harrogate Staywell co-ordinated another event on October 23rd. We were very lucky to have the support of our Voluntary sector colleagues based alongside us at Community House. Colleagues from IDAS , Lifeline, HADCA, Women of Faith Today, Harrogate Town football took slots of 30 minutes at the Public Living Room. Essential needs loaned us some furniture and HELP transported it to the venue . It was a massive team effort, and everyone worked so well together. The weather was cold and unpredictable so ASDA Harrogate welcomed us to their store and we were able to set up a small cosy space where several members of the public joined us for a drink and chat. There was a range of stories from people who sat with us such as one person who was homeless and was finding creative ways to work with the Council and UC to provide them with temporary accommodation, another person found out about the Harrogate Staywell anxiety workshop and wanted to join this group and another who felt sad and lonely at the moment due to a bereavement .
Lots of people passed by and could be heard to say ‘ What’s a Public Living Room?’ We tried to get the message out and everyone we spoke with agreed it was a great idea.
It was just a small cosy space but it gave a big hug to the Community.
