Words and pictures by Eleanor Fox

On Tuesday, a public living room was setup outside John Lewis by Camerado’s to allow the people of Cardiff relax on the comfort of a sofa and chat with others.

Camerado’s is a social movement creating Public Living Rooms that bring people together to help them get through tough times. With the cost-of-living crisis the stress of money makes people tend to step away from social gatherings, with these public living rooms it allowes people to reconnect with others and not have to worry or stress about spending money.

Maff Potts states ‘I realised that when people are going through tough times the thing they need most of all is relationships and a bit of company with other people and we are giving an environment for people to come together and look out for each other’

The first Public Living Room was set up in Sheffield in 2016. Currently there are 163 active Public Living Rooms, most are in the UK, but some have also popped up around the world including in the USA, Australia and many more. The Public Living Rooms are set up by communities as the Camerado’s team will send a box of goodies with the communities just needing to add the people and furniture. They are not just being set up on the pavements but also in schools, hospitals and Universities with University of Bristol being the most active for 700 students.