‘Wintercomfort does not do what it says on the tin’: Melody Brooker discusses Wintercomfort’s role in Cambridge
Wintercomfort’s building by Jesus Green. Holly Jones.
Last Monday I crossed Jesus Green to interview Melody, the head of fundraising and communications at Wintercomfort. She gave me a tour of their site as we talked.
Melody is showing me around a meeting room upstairs. As she talks it becomes clear that this space is much more than that. As well as the team’s daily check in after lunch, it’s used for private appointments with the housing adviser, small group meetings and once a month it transforms into a foot care clinic for rough sleepers. Just as I think she’s covered all that the room could possibly offer, Melody points to a big glass box mounted on a beige cushion: “And this is our ant farm!” I laugh, thinking she must be joking. But as we approach the telluric shrine dripping with condensation, I realise she isn’t. Melody explains the story behind the ant farm, “one of our long-term service users here has problems with binge drinking and with his mental health. But his real passion is…ants!’ Pointing at the beige material underneath the box she adds, “they’re imported from Singapore so he insists that they have a heated blanket underneath”. As I gawk at the (massive) ants, Melody taps the electric blanket: “I know it’s crazy but we very much go above and beyond here…and all joking aside, he keeps sober because he wants to come in and see them”.
This extraordinary story of ‘going above and beyond’ captures the essence of Wintercomfort. Contrary to its misleading name, Wintercomfort is open every day and every season, offering support, advice, and food. It also offers much more than that. As Melody puts it, “Wintercomfort does not do what it says on the tin.” She explains that although it is technically a day centre, she considers that term “a bit passive, which is not what we’re about”. Wintercomfort’s aim is “to empower people…to achieve long-lasting, positive change in their lives”. They work broadly, helping people who are experiencing homelessness but also supporting anybody sofa-surfing or at risk of homelessness. Housing advice, employment support and mental health work are some of the services they offer.
The building itself has a main area where people come to eat, a laundry, showers, and a courtyard. The drop-in service is open from 8:30 – 13:00 so people can come in for free breakfast and lunch and then stay all morning. There are also project workers who are around for people to chat to during the morning. Melody introduces me to one of them, Adam. “He’s our debt adviser but during the drop-in service he will do more hands-on support. He’s around if anybody needs anything.” Although rough sleepers are prioritised in the morning service, Wintercomfort remains open until 16:00 doing outreach work which includes one-to-one appointments and small group activities. They also run and provide the equipment for a social enterprise called Overstream Clean and Garden, which employs people with lived experience of homelessness who are struggling to find a job in another setting. Melody explains that “It provides an income stream and is a stepping-stone into future employment for a lot of people with mental health challenges or a criminal past which would otherwise prohibit them from finding a job.
Once we’re upstairs, I ask Melody, who has worked for the charity since October 2020, how she feels about the way homelessness is treated in Cambridge. She replies with the fact that “Cambridge is the most economically divided city in the UK” and goes on to say that this is one of the reasons she wanted to work within the charitable sector. Having previously run her own events company, Melody describes how, finding herself on the side surrounded by the wealth of the university and hotels, she found it hard not to see the inequality: “And once you have seen it, it’s really hard to go back”.
Melody is particularly keen to educate people about the distinction between those who are begging and rough sleepers: “There’s a very important divide to make between those that are begging on the streets and those that are homeless. And very often they are not the same thing although there is inevitably some crossover.” Melody worries that conflating the two creates the impression that there aren’t enough support services and that the council are not doing enough. As she explains, in the vast majority of cases, street begging is linked to addiction and that cash will almost always end up in the hands of drug dealers. She is keen to push the point that people should not feel guilty, telling me that giving cash to people on the street is absolutely the wrong way to support the homeless community: “the brutal truth is that many of those begging on the street are not homeless and that every time you give a fiver to someone in the street you are supporting county lines.” She wants people to redirect their efforts to the right places.
Wintercomfort is one of those right places. As Melody says, “This city is a very altruistic city. People want to help, which is a great thing, but what isn’t helpful is when people see what they see, draw a conclusion, and say ‘nothing’s being done so let’s do something [ourselves]’. Instead, the most helpful thing to do is to try and engage with the existing services.”
Wintercomfort is the charity chosen by the Cambridge Fashion Show this year, and I ask Melody how the money from the show will be distributed: “As an independent charity, we have to raise almost all of the money we need ourselves. We receive a statutory grant from the council which accounts for around 16% of our income. This is allocated to the drop-in service but sadly, rising demand and costs mean that we need to boost these funds in other ways.” She elaborates, explaining that there is a real need for money to pay project workers’ salaries and the ongoing costs of service delivery. Wintercomfort is a critical part of the support system in Cambridge. The verified number of rough sleepers in December was 39, but the charity supports a further 18 who are unverified. More than thirty people rely on Wintercomfort daily for food and support. In addition to this, Wintercomfort support many people who are vulnerably housed, at risk of homelessness or who have been homeless. Over the past year, the charity has supported 573 people and that’s a number they expect to rise.
From Melody Brooker at Wintercomfort.
Wintercomfort also provides a distinct service for women. To ensure that they feel safe, these happen outside of the centre or in the afternoons once the general drop-in is closed. They currently support around a hundred women, most of whom have experienced homelessness or are at risk. In summary, raising money for Wintercomfort (such as going to the fashion show) is essential for the city. As Melody put it: “Without Wintercomfort honestly, I just don’t know what would happen. The council and other services would say the same. It is absolutely vital to this city and to the wider community, so fundraising in an unrestricted capacity is hugely, hugely important.”
“Wintercomfort is a safe space for people that want to get help”, Melody says, reiterating their core message. “A smile, compassion, that’s what people need; they need to feel human. If you see someone begging in the street…say ‘Sorry, but how are you doing? Have you heard of Wintercomfort?’”.
If you can’t make it to the fashion show this year, here are some other ways you can help:
Educating the community and encouraging people to redirect their donations and care to established services in the city
Spreading awareness that Wintercomfort is here and that it is not just for rough sleepers
Melody encourages people to get in touch with Wintercomfort for volunteering and locum work opportunities if they’ve got some spare time
Look into helping other existing groups like Embrace Cambridge or Jimmy’s Cambridge