Tackling Loneliness in North Staffordshire
Plus new Young Poet Laureate, commemorating Baby Loss Awareness Week, new food bank for Meir, and Staffs teens win competition to develop a wellbeing app…
This month, we are supported by Steel Door Company, luxury steel doors to transform your home 🚪 🏠 🔨
Good News 🎉
☕️ You Are Not Alone. Designed to tackle loneliness, strengthen community connections, and support local cafes, not-for-profit organisation Reaching’s new Brew Crew project provides regular meetups with a dedicated volunteer to give anybody struggling with loneliness. More than 40 venues across North Staffordshire have already signed up as Brew Crew members, and member cafes display an orange heart sticker in their window. Customers can wear orange heart pin badges as a sign they’d appreciate a warm welcome in a Brew Crew cafe, or to show their support for ending loneliness. Find your nearest cafe here. Want to volunteer, donate or sponsor? Email them here.
✍️THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK – Pearl Knight-Dutton ✍️
Staffordshire has a new Young Poet Laureate! Pearl Knight-Dutton from East Staffordshire was inaugurated on National Poetry Day earlier this month at a poetry evening at Stafford Library. The event was hosted by Staffordshire Poet Laureate Scarlett Ward and outgoing Young Poet Laureate Harry Fletcher. Pearl will now be mentored and supported by Scarlett Ward, and her role will involve creating, promoting, and performing poetry as well as developing new ideas to raise the profile of poetry among children and young people across Staffordshire. You can find out more about the Poets Laureate on the webpage here.
🎗️ Commemorating Baby Loss Awareness Week. Stoke-on-Trent City Council joined forces with the STILL support group to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week with a ribbon display outside the Civic Centre in Stoke. Now in its 22nd year, Baby Loss Awareness Week is led by SANDS and raises awareness of pregnancy and baby loss, which affects around one in four pregnancies. The week provides an opportunity for families, friends and communities to come together, share their experiences and remember the babies who are no longer with us. Find out more by emailing them or completing the MNVP online feedback survey.
🎓 Staffs Teens Set to Develop Wellbeing App. Students at Blythe Bridge High School were the victors of a competition to develop a wellbeing app by suicide prevention charity the Oli Leigh Trust. Aiming to break down the barriers that young people face around their mental health, the app, Mindful Mondays, will offer a safe space for students to talk anonymously about their mental health while also giving them challenges to help improve it.
🥫 New Meir Foodbank Opens Today. In an ideal world, food banks wouldn’t exist, of course, but nevertheless we’re glad to see that there’s a new centre at Broadway Methodist Church in Meir for those who need it. Part of Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, it will be open every Monday from 12.30pm-2.30pm. For details of other foodbanks in the city and their opening times, go here.
🏫 NSCG Becomes T Level Insight Hub. Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) has been appointed by the Department for Education and the Association of Colleges as one of only seven T Level Insight Hubs nationally. Designed to showcase sector best practice and provide support for other providers across the country developing and delivering T Levels, NSCG will play a key role in helping to shape T Level delivery nationwide.
🍁 Sending autumnal vibes… a word from Helen, editor/writer at The Knot
As a shy teenager studying for my A-Levels at Stoke-on-Trent College, I often found myself spending break and lunch times in the library. Most of my friends had stayed on at our school’s sixth form, and while I eventually forged new friendships, I still remember wishing I had the confidence to walk into the common room and strike up a conversation with my more outgoing peers. It’s hard to admit you’re lonely — and I never told anyone how I felt.
Loneliness is a growing public health issue in the UK, with around one in four adults reporting that they feel lonely some or all of the time. Even more concerning, one in eight say loneliness has led to suicidal thoughts. During the Covid lockdowns, many of us struggled without regular visits from family and friends. For those living alone, this sense of isolation was even more profound.
During that time, NHS Volunteer Responders stepped in — delivering food, collecting prescriptions, and phoning people who were vulnerable or shielding. Many meaningful friendships were formed through these simple acts of kindness. I was paired with a lady from my village and began calling her once a week. Despite her being hard of hearing and living with dementia, I sensed she appreciated the check-ins — and, before long, I began looking forward to our weekly chats, too.
When restrictions lifted, I started visiting her in person for a cuppa each week until she sadly passed away a couple of years ago. We’d sit in her lounge watching squirrels dart through the trees as she reminisced about her 1930s childhood in the village. Before I left, she often gave me a bag of sweets to take home for the children. When she died, my son and I shed a few tears — and even now, I still smile when I walk past her old house.
Whether you’re an awkward teenager feeling sidelined or an elderly person confined to four walls, battling loneliness is bloody hard. But there are ways to make a difference — both for yourself and others.
If you’re feeling lonely, or want to help those who are, why not sign up for the Brew Crew? By getting involved in this heartfelt community initiative, you’ll not only make a new friend but also help local cafes thrive. Visit the Reaching website to find your nearest Brew Crew cafe and help kick loneliness to the curb, one cup of tea at a time.
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
👨🏾🎤 High-end Hip Hop: You were keen to find out about Tones – A Hip Hop Opera
🐸 Staffs Wildlife Trust Makes History: It’s all happening at Chillington Hall…
🎓 Keele and Community: We mentioned that Piccoloco has opened at Keele in Town - have you been yet?
The Knot on Socials: Have you watched James’s interview with Tim Heatley from capital & centric yet? If not, check it out and find out what to expect!
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☁️ 14° (10°) Tue 🌧️ 13° (7°) Wed 🌦️ 12° (9°) Thu 🌦️ 12° (8°) Fri 🌧️ 11° (6°)
Sat 🌧️ 10° (4°) Sun 🌧️ 9° (4°).
Sunrise 20/10 ☀️07:43 Sunset 20/10 🌅 18:03
Great to see the new young poet laureate appointed. I look forward to encountering them.
Tremendous Please keep it coming