Council invites residents to donate coats at Hackney’s libraries – with winter swap scheme in ‘very high demand’

Collection and donation rack at Hackney Central Library. Photograph: Julia Gregory

With temperatures hovering around zero, the cold has been biting deep in Hackney.

Libraries in the borough are encouraging people to donate coats to others in the community who may be in need of an extra layer.

Hundreds of coats are available across the seven libraries and people can take one if they need one.

It is the first time the Kind Coat Scheme has been rolled out in Hackney. In the past, coats have only been available at Stoke Newington and Dalston libraries.

A council spokesman said there has been “a very high demand, so donations are still welcome at all our libraries”.

It is hoped the clothing swap will also keep clothes out of landfill and give them a new lease of life.

Other libraries across the UK, including several in Leeds, are running coat swap schemes.

Libraries are also serving as Warm Spaces this winter as residents face the extra pressure of soaring fuel bills.

It means they can curl up with a book, get on with work or use computers whilst they stay warm.

Hackney Central Library near the Town Hall will also be open on Wednesday 28 December and Thursday 29 December for winter warmer activities including coffee mornings, board games, festive music, competitions and storytelling.

Other community spaces across the borough are acting as warm spaces to help relieve some of the headache about fuel bills.

Earlier this winter, the council launched Help at Hand – an online resource and booklet detailing support to help people weather the cost-of-living crisis.

Hundreds of people turned up to its recent winter warmer event, which gave residents a chance to get information about the support available to them.

Communities across Hackney are also signing up to heat exchange schemes, where those who do not need the winter fuel payments can donate the money to neighbours. De Beavoir, Victoria and Hackney Wick have set up their own exchanges through the Fuel Bank Foundation.

It comes as a survey by the New Economics Foundation think tank predicted 43 per cent of people in the UK would be unable to afford a decent standard of living, such as buying new clothes, by 2024 – an increase of 12 per cent on pre-pandemic figures.