For Britons seeking warmth, camaraderie can be as important as heat

String lights, boxes full of postcards to share a story, or a sign on the door that lists the top five David Bowie songs with the message, “Come in and argue”: There are many ways to make people happy to come out of the cold and into a public warm space, says Maff Potts. The key, he adds, is to make sure they feel welcome and not judged.

“What gets people in is that it’s not a church. It’s not a charity,” says Mr. Potts, who founded Camerados, a social movement that’s been opening public living rooms in communities across the United Kingdom since 2015. “There’s no fixing, no answer. There’s just permission.”

And this winter, the need for warm banks – or warm spaces, as they are being called