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Mary Obomese is on her way to the library, like every morning she has off and doesn't go to work.
She doesn't want to borrow books there, but above all - to keep warm.
The Woolwich Center Library in south-east London now doubles as a warming room.
People can stay here if, like Obomese, they can no longer pay their heating bills.
Mary Obomese, NHS worker
"In fact, I started going to the library this week because it's very cold at home and we don't usually leave our heating on for long."
Mary Obomese and her family had to delay payments for the past month.
She fears she will have to do the same again this month.
Mary Obomese, NHS worker
“It's really hard when the kids ask: But mommy, I'm cold, I'm cold! So we turn the heat on for 30 minutes, then we turn it off, then we turn it on for an hour, and then we turn it off again. So we do it. But it's not easy - as of the beginning of this year, it isn't. «
Mary Obomese lives in council housing in south-east London with her husband and children.
As an employee of the British health system NHS, she is the main breadwinner of her family with a salary of the equivalent of 1700 euros.
Like her, hundreds of thousands of Britons are currently struggling to cope with everyday life.
Low earners in particular have been hit hard by the current cost of living crisis.
With the Ukraine war, rising energy prices exacerbated the situation.
Mary Obomese is among 45 percent of Brits who say they have trouble paying their electricity and gas bills, according to a study.
The Warm Welcome campaign currently counts more than 3,000 warming rooms in Great Britain - and the demand from the population is increasing.
Amy Jackson, library manager
'It's a shame that warming rooms have to exist at all these days. But unfortunately it is, and we need to be there to support everyone affected by the cost of living crisis.
I think that unfortunately many people feel uncomfortable and ashamed to admit that they have problems. So we try to advertise our warm rooms as something else. That makes it more accessible to people.«
It's just before Christmas.
For Mary Obomese, the holidays are more of a problem than a reason to celebrate right now.
Mary Obomese, NHS worker
'My daughter's birthday is on Christmas Day. So yesterday she asked me: Mom, what are we going to get for Christmas? Will we get packages or gifts? I said we'll see. The week isn't over yet so we'll see... (cries) I'm sorry. We haven't been able to buy them any presents yet."