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Tel: 0117 954 2834 Post: Beacon Centre, City Academy, Russell Town Avenue Bristol, BS5 9JH
The distribution costs for this edition are funded by Ashley, Easton & Lawrence Hill Wellbeing Fund
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Twitter: @upourstreet Facebook: Up Our Street Charity no: 1081691 Company no: 04023294 Comm. Engagement Officer Kai Paulden Tel: 0117 954 2835 Finance and Office Manager Tracy Parsons Tel: 0117 954 2834 Interim Manager Matt Jacobs Tel: 0117 954 2836
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Chair of trustees Sally Caseley Deputy chairs Dominic Murphy Jane Westhead Trustee board Joyce Clarke Matt Fulford Amy Harrison Mike Pickering Aisha Thomas
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Listen to Up Our Street on BCfm 93.2 and Ujima 98fm every Wednesday at 8.45am Follow us on Twitter @upourstreet or join our group on Facebook Inside this issue Up Our Street news......................page 3 Thank You Awards....................page 4-5 Neighbourhood Partnership.....page 6 Active Citizens project …………page 7 Modern day slavery......................page 8 Community Interview…………..page 9 St Marks community cafe........page 10 2
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J3 parking campaign.............................page 11 Christmas events....................................page 12 Activities for older people..................page 13 Digi Makers {Local} ...............................page 15 SPAN Update…………………...................page 16 Food Review ...........................................page 18 Bristol Arena………………………………….page 19 Advertising.........................................page 21-24 www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
Up Our Street - People changing the world. One street at a time. Another busy year is drawing to a close, and it is a time of change for us at Up Our Street. I’m sure you will join me in sending good wishes to our Manager Stacy Yelland, who had just started her maternity leave at the time of going to press. We also say good bye to Lorena who is going to work for Bristol City Council for the Neighbourhood Partnership in Bedminster. We have appointed Matt Jacobs to cover Stacy’s leave, and Kai Paulden is our new Community Engagement Officer.
always the high point on our calendar, celebrating the achievements of local residents making a real difference in their community. You can read more about them and see some wonderful photographs on page four. Thank you to the staff for all their hard work in organising the event. I would also like to highlight our new Active Citizens project (page seven), which will see a range of exciting events for you to get involved with in 2016.
Our fifth annual Thank You awards in October were inspirational as ever. It is
According to latest figures from Bristol City Council, only 55% of residents in Lawrence Hill have responded to the annual canvass. Each year, by law, you must confirm your details are correct on the electoral register.
Matt Jacobs
Please check the form delivered to your home and respond to confirm all the details are correct or if they need to be amended. Anyone not listed must register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Act now or you could be removed from the register and you won’t be able to vote in the next elections. For further information visit www.bristol.gov.uk/annualcanvass or you can contact Electoral Services by email electoral.services@bristol.gov.uk or calling 0117 922 3400.
Kai Paulden
Playing Out One of Lorena’s last events was a bulb planting session with residents from Twinnell House in Easton on 13 October. We hope to see plenty of daffodils and miniature irises shooting up in the spring…
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Your vote matters, make sure you’re in!
Planning Group Up Our Street is working with a group of local residents to support them in responding to planning applications and make sure that developers listen to our community. Contact Kai at Up Our Street if you would like to join the group.
Love Your Community Save the date! After the success of last year’s event we will be running another Love Your Community event on 14 February 2016. We will be working with Barton Hill Settlement.
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Thank You awards
Up Our Street Thank You Award Winners 2015 Abdul Ahmed Afzal Shah Agata Kujawka Amanda Pearce Annie Oliver Aroosa Saif Callum Strainge Christine Cole Clane Selway Claudia Varga Dave Turner David Mowat
Deniece Dixon Derek Scale Gill Slee Greg Streete Helen Wilson-Roe Ifrah Hassan Jackie Stunt Jahluke Selassie Jo Firth Liz Beth Lydia MacQueen Majella Lester
Marion Green Mark Kearns Maxine Markham Michael Phipps Michelle Meredith Mikey O'Connor Moestak Hussein Mubarak Abdi Neil Maggs Omar Sabrie Onine Ugochukwu Patrick Winch
Rachael Bee Raho Muhidin Richard Seymour Rose Morgan Shahid Akram Simon Webb Steve Goulding Suad Yusuf Tiana Troup Tim Lloyd-Yeates Tracy Scrivener Zoe Gibbons
Business Awards: Al Accounting and United Supermarket
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Thank You awards and Annual Report
The 2015 Thank You Awards were funded thanks to the generosity of
Thank you also to Pat and Sherrie for compering and Thangham Debonnaire MP for presenting the awards. Photography by Evoke Photography and films by Telling Tales Films.
Annual Report Key Facts: The Thank You Awards are part of our Annual General Meeting. We presented our annual reports and accounts at the meeting, copies are available from the Up Our Street office if you would like to find out more. Up Our Street is managed by a voluntary board of trustees. During 2014-2015 we said goodbye to Richard Curtis, Jo Curtis, Gez Bentley and Alex Milne. We would like to thank them all for their hard work in developing the work of Up Our Street.
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Partnership The NP is made up of councillors, local people and voluntary organisations. We’d like to introduce you to the people who help make decisions about where we live.
Dates for your diary
Neighbourhood Forum Monday 14 December 2015 6.30pm to 8.30pm Hannah More Primary School Thursday 4 February 2016 1pm to 3 pm Newton Hall, Stapleton Road Neighbourhood Partnership Monday 30 November 2015 6.30pm to 8.30pm St Pauls Learning Centre Railway Path Up Our Street is supporting a group of local experts to form a Stewardship Group to look after the long term future of the path. Get in touch with Kai at Up Our Street for details. Newtown Our Neighbourhood Officer, Neil Burwell, is working with local people and the council to improve the environment around Newtown. If you’ve got ideas or would like to get involved we’d love to hear from you. Tidy BS5 The campaign for cleaner streets continues... A litter pick by Lorena and local residents in September picked up 44 bags of litter in just two hours! Thank you to everyone who helped out. Follow #tidyBS5 on Twitter.
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Sonny Richards, Easton Why are you a member of the NP? Because I feel I can contribute to making the area a better place. What do you find most rewarding? I’m not looking for personal reward… for me it’s seeing the input that local people have. And most importantly, seeing change happen.
What is the thing you’d like to change? I’d change the perception of the area. I’ve been trying to do this since 2010. People get the wrong impression from the media. I mean, I don’t think we should hide anything, but the media go so over the top with their representation of this area and that needs to change. Meet the Team Who’s who at the Neighbourhood Partnership? Kurt James works for Bristol City Council as the Neigbourhood Partnership Co-ordinator.
kurt.james@bristol.gov.uk
Neil Burwell is Neighbourhood Officer at Bristol City Council and works in Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill.
neil.burwell@bristol.gov.uk
Kai Paulden works for Up Our Street and delivers the Neighbourhood Forum on behalf of Bristol City Council.
community@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
Active Citizens
Active Citizens People changing the world… One street at a time. Up Our Street has secured funding from ‘Awards for All’ for an Active Citizens project. This project is all about giving residents practical ways to become involved in their community. We started the project with the launch of our ‘Can Do Toolkit’ at the Thank You Awards in October, and we will be running a series of pop-up Active Citizens events throughout 2016.
Detroit Soup Can Do Toolkit A handy A5 booklet featuring real stories from residents. This is supported by a short film on our website which we hope you will find inspiring.
Love Your Community After last years’ popular event, we’re teaming up with Barton Hill Settlement to run an alternative Valentine’s Day on 14 February 2016. The event will be held at the Settlement and is all about loving your community, with a range of information stalls and workshops. There will also be free refreshments, facepainting and children’s activities. Put the date in your diary!
This is a fun social evening based on an idea from Detroit, described as ‘a micro-granting dinner’. What does that mean? Attendees put in a donation of £5 and local community groups have a chance to pitch their project ideas for funding. After some hopefully lively discussion over dinner, everyone gets a chance to vote and the winning project gets the cash. They then report back on the Active Citizens radio show.
BCfm Radio Show Ever wanted to be a radio star? Well this could be your chance. We will be recruiting and training local volunteers to produce a series of monthly shows on BCfm on the theme of Active Citizens. You’ll learn about interviewing, editing and all aspects of broadcasting a one hour show.
Keep an eye on our ebulletin and noticeboards for more information about Active Citizens events. Or call Up Our Street on 0117 954 2834.
Case Study Running a Neighbourhood Watch Antonio Jordan “Being from Barbados I know the importance of socialising. Once people get on with each other, they can achieve a lot together. I joined the Neighbourhood Watch group and found it interesting. I have a background in admin and have leadership skills, so got more involved in organising the group.”
Case Study Setting up a parks group Margaret Castle “I’ve always loved Netham Park and thought that keeping it tidy and looked after was a way of enjoying the park and being useful as well. And other people can enjoy it too. It’s great—you catch up on all the gossip and meet some lovely people. It’s fun!” www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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Unchosen and One25 Morecambe Bay tragedy, various legislation was introduced culminating this year in the Modern Day Slavery Act. A key part of this legislation is to strengthen victims rights and increase penalties for perpetrators/traffickers. There is also a requirement for big businesses to be more accountable and ensure no slavery in their supply chain.
Still image from What do you see?
When we hear the word ‘slavery’ we think of something that is in the past, but sadly that’s not the case. We spoke to Melissa Blackburn, CEO of Unchosen, an organisation based at Easton Business Centre that aims to raise awareness of modern day slavery through the medium of film. “It’s a shocking fact, but forced labour is happening in our communities here in the UK. This could be in places such as factories, nail bars, car washes and the building trade.” Melissa also explains that although some of these unpaid workers are migrants trafficked illegally, some are EU citizens with a legal right to work here, and some are vulnerable British nationals. Unchosen was founded in 2007 by Trish Davidson, who was inspired by Nick Broomfield’s film Ghosts about the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers. After the
One25 reaches out to women trapped in, or vulnerable to, street sex work, supporting them to break free and build new lives away from violence, poverty and addiction. We spoke to Amy at One25 about the work they do and the women they support.
When Unchosen started they showed other peoples’ films, but are now able to make their own films in-house and are building an impressive library of film. “We want to show people what modern slavery looks like, to help them spot slavery in their communities and take action. If we see a worker who seems to be working very long hours, with no breaks and no freedom, we need to question what’s happening.” Unchosen has a short film competition, which will be open for entries in early 2016. Each competition unearths some fantastic films and filmmaking talent. They also have free DVDs available called Films Against Slavery and a short animation on their website called “What do you see” made by Bristol animator Sally Arthur. If you suspect someone is being exploited and forced to work without pay, Unchosen’s advice is to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. “The police are much more educated these days about exploitation and slavery, they are keen to help but they need people in the community to report.” Visit www.unchosen.org or phone 0117 941 5331
thought that would be my life forever, but One25 gave me hope. One25 is so important for when women like me need a way out, a choice.” One25 has a staff team of 20 as well as 120 to 130 regular volunteers. “We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers, they’re involved in all aspects of our work” says Amy. The organisation was delighted to receive the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2014.
“We work directly with women as individuals” explains Amy, “our aim is to offer holistic support, and help women break free from a life in street sex work” Services are very practical and are designed In early December One25 launches Green Light to meet the women where they are. One25 offers a District, a 90 second film representing the night outreach van, and afternoon drop-in sessions, experience of women on the streets. as well as more in depth case work. Contact One25 on 0117 909 8832 or visit As Rachel, one of their service users, puts it “None www.one25.org.uk to watch the film. of the girls would be out there on the street if they could see a way out from drugs and sex-work. I 8
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Community interview: Negat Hussein resource for us. I think when you believe in what you do, it shows in your work. Supporting our volunteers is really important too. I think volunteering is more recognised these days, seen as more valuable. It opens doors for people, let’s them try things out.”
Negat Hussein(centre) at the drop-in
Negat explains that the majority of trustees at Refugee Women of Bristol are from a refugee background themselves, so they understand the issues. They have a strong focus on providing interpreting services and ESOL courses. Critically it’s about providing a safe environment for women and their children. “Our work is about helping refugee women access the services that are there for them.” She is keen to stress that partnership working is key to their work, particularly with public health and Bristol City Council. “We run health awareness workshops around things like childhood vaccinations.”
There are so many amazing people in Easton and Lawrence Hill who give up their time for our community. We caught up with one of them, Negat Hussein, who has been volunteering as a trustee of What are you most proud of? “We’ve just produced a leaflet to help victims of Refugee Women of Bristol for five years. domestic violence, which has been translated into We talk about what attracted her to the city. five languages. We also work with groups “Bristol’s green, I’ve lived in London and Bristol is campaigning against FGM. Some of our women much quieter. There’s a nice vibe and I think people have become Health Champions and are more approachable. Over the many of our volunteers have moved years things have changed so into paid staff roles.” much, but there are lots of good What’s the biggest challenge? things happening in this city. I think “Like many organisations, it’s people believe in communities funding. We are very fortunate to here, it’s a good place to live and have secured three years of funding raise children.” from Lloyds Bank to pay for key staff, It was when she was attending local which puts us in a much stronger toddler groups with her own position. It means we can focus on children that Negat became aware that there were providing services.” refugee women in her area who didn’t have the Any advice for potential volunteers? language skills to allow them to fully take part. “Anything that you do in life whether that’s paid Around that time she was invited to Refugee Women of Bristols’ AGM and decided to volunteer. work or volunteering... confidence will come as you do it. The more you do, the more you understand. “I was impressed by their work, what they were Don’t be afraid to get involved, you will gain so doing for women. It’s about empowering women much.” and giving them skills. I had the time because I was at home with the children and it seemed natural to Refugee Women of Bristol runs a drop-in use my language skills.” session for refugee women at the Malcolm X Centre, City Road, St Pauls on Tuesdays from Negat, who speaks English, Swedish and Arabic, 10am to 2.30pm joined the committee and became Chair five years or visit www.refugeewomenofbristol.org.uk ago. “It’s a huge responsibility but I really enjoy it. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and I have learnt If you are interested in volunteering, contact so much.” 0117 941 5867 When we ask how the organisation works, the answer is clear “Volunteers are the most important
“I think when you believe in what you do, it shows in your work.”
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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St Marks Baptist Church members of staff, but all the rest of the team are volunteers. “For some volunteers it can be an important step towards paid work, and the café manager sometimes provides job references for volunteers who are seeking work in catering, hospitality and care sectors. It’s wonderful to see people move on, it’s part of what we’re here for.” They also host the local branch of the Trussell Trust foodbank, which is open on Fridays. As the café closes at 2pm people start to arrive to use the foodbank, and can sit and have a hot drink while they wait to be seen. Linked with this they have invited an outreach worker from Shelter who can help with advice on budgeting, benefits and fuel poverty.
Customers are enjoying rare autumnal sunshine sat at the outdoor tables of the St Marks community café when we pop in to talk to Richard Skinner, minister of St Marks Road Baptist Church. The church has been running the café for more than seven years and Richard believes that it’s a key part of their work in the community. The busy café runs from Wednesday to Saturday, selling teas, coffees, amazing cakes and lunches. More than 300 people visit the café every week. Richard explains that there are two part time
“I love it here, it’s a truly multicultural church” says Richard. “Our purpose is to love God, love each other, and love the community, because God's love inspires us to do this. We are committed to working in ways that benefit the community”. He gives the example of the recent Spice Festival in the summer where they worked with local businesses and the local mosque to put on a food festival. The church holds services on Sundays at 11am and everyone is welcome to join in. If you are interested in volunteering in the café please contact Lesley on 07969 168 796
Up Our Street caught up with Paul Bradburn, a member of the Old Market Community Association. After lots of hard work, the Old Market Neighbourhood Plan is now complete and has been sent to Bristol City Council. In the next few months everyone in Old Market and surrounding areas (including The Dings, Newtown and St Judes) will be able to vote on whether the plan is adopted. The plan looks at long term ambitions for the area and runs until 2026. The key theme within the plan is to improve the way that developers approach Old Market, to ensure that future developments benefit the whole community. It’s already having a positive effect, says Paul, as three different developers have approached the Old Market planning group. 10
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Bristol City Council is consulting residents about the future of Castle Park. The parks team is already making some enhancements to the park including improving access to the Castle Keep remains, enhancing the boundary of the park with Wine Street, and fixing the water feature. The team will not be able to carry out all the proposals at the present time as they only have a limited budget, but they are keen to hear your views on improvements that could be funded in the future. The consultation closes on 24 December 2015. Paper copies are available at the Central Library or visit www.bristol.gov.uk/ castleparksurvey. www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
J3 parking, Wild walks for wellbeing
Residents at Junction 3 are celebrating the success of their campaign against unfair parking charges. Up Our Street spoke to Joanne Priest, a resident at J3, to find out more. “There had been signs up about parking restrictions, but they had never been enforced” explains Joanne, “Then suddenly out of the blue, residents were getting ticketed just for parking outside their homes.” A small group of residents got together to campaign on the issue. “We knocked on doors, spoke to other residents, set up an online petition and then spoke at a full council meeting in July.”
J3 residents
Within a week of the resident’s presentation at the council meeting, workmen arrived to take down the J3 residents will have the chance to have their signs, and residents later received letters explaining say during November and December. Details of that a formal consultation would be carried out the consultation will be on display at the J3 with residents later in the year. “It’s a temporary library. solution at the moment” says Joanne “but we’re pleased that there will be proper consultation this Is there something you would like to time. The parking situation has eased, especially as change in your neighbourhood? restrictions have been lifted on an adjacent street.”
Contact Up Our Street on 0117 954 2834
brought out of themselves. It’s also good to get out of the city sometimes, see a bit of green space.” The group has 21 members, and the weekly walks regularly attract between 10 to 15 people. “And we don’t just stay local” explains Brian “we’ve taken the bus and had walks in Bath, Portishead, and explored Avonmouth Docks.” There are currently six volunteer walk leaders in the group, who have all completed Walk for Health training. The group has recently branched out into gardening. Trinity Centre has donated two plots in their community garden to the walkers group. Edwin and Steve were busy planting earlier in the year and are now enjoying a crop of carrots, beetroots and tomatoes. The other plot is currently planted with a green manure crop, which will be Wild Walks for Wellbeing is a weekly walking dug in later in the year to improve soil fertility. group for people who have experienced mental illness. We featured the group in our Summer 2014 They are already busy making plans for what to grow next year. edition, so we thought we would see how things were going one year on. We’re greeted by Brian, If you think you could benefit from a walking one of the volunteer walk leaders, who tells me group you can speak to your GP or visit how successful the group has been. I asked Brian www.walkforhealth.org.uk what he most enjoys about the group “I like seeing the improvements in other people, seeing people www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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Christmas events
If you’d like to publicise a community event in the Spring edition of Up Our Street, please send details to contact@eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk by 8 January 2016
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Services for older people over a decade, offering tea and friendship for older people in the Barton Hill area. The group meets every Wednesday from 9am to 11am. There are about 15to20 regular attendees, but the group is keen to tell us that they’re open to new members. The group serves hot drinks, and their very popular bacon rolls, all for a small donation. It’s not all sitting and chatting either, there is also a popular table tennis session later in the morning.
Derek, Audrey, Diane, Barbara, Martin, Jean, Geraldine, David
When we ask her what she enjoys about coming to Coffee Pot, Barbara replies “just talking!” And the rest of the group breaks out into gales of laughter. Her friend Geraldine chips in “If you’re feeling a bit depressed and have the cares of the world on your shoulders, you soon get rid of them here.” The Coffee Pot at St Lukes Church has been running for
David Mowat (photo: far left) is employed by the church part-time to strengthen St Luke's work with older people in the area. “Coffee Pot is a very active group, but I’m helping them to promote themselves more widely.” After listening to the group David has started a carer’s support group on the second Wednesday of the month in partnership with the Carers Support Centre. For more information please contact St Lukes Church on 0117 955 5947.
Colourful disco lights and crazy specs are not what you would normally expect to find in sheltered accommodation for older people. It’s all part of a project called ‘Live at Lincoln Gardens’, which was thought up by one of the care staff, Jill Fleming, working with the tenants association at the home. When we visited in October the community room was packed out with more than 25 residents and staff who had come to enjoy a performance by the Elton John Experience. Speaking to Jill, it’s obvious that this is something she feels passionate about “I feel it’s really important for these concerts to have live music and performers with charisma. I’m keen to challenge some of the stereotypes around what kind of activities older people enjoy.” The plan is to have monthly concerts with tickets priced between £3 to £4. Jill is planning to have a variety of performers, and is planning a reggae theme for the next event. “I’m not embarrassed to ask for a favour. I’d love to find talented people from the local area who could come and perform for us, I’d love to have a magic show!” Jill is also keen to hear from www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
potential volunteers to help at events, decorating the room and serving refreshments. She’s also keen to welcome people from outside Lincoln Gardens at the concerts, and encourages family members to come along. For more information contact Selina Ball, Assistant Manager at Lincoln Gardens 0117 304 1722
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Domestic abuse Bristol City Council launched a campaign this summer to encourage people to speak out about domestic abuse. This is in response to recent domestic homicide cases where the victims were not known to services, but friends and family were aware that abuse was going on. The message is that we need to speak out about any domestic abuse that may be happening in our community. Up Our Street spoke to two local organisations who are campaigning on the issue. We have also included some useful telephone numbers.
Useful Phone Numbers You can report suspected domestic abuse anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 0800 6949 999 is a freephone service which will not show up on your telephone bill and can put you in touch with domestic abuse services available in your area. If you have any concerns regarding FGM, call the free 24-hour helpline on 0800 028 3550. Or if you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger you can call the emergency services by dialing 999.
A key part of Integrate’s work is to train the young people to become peer educators, and to give Just across the corridor from the Up Our Street them opportunities to speak at high profile events. offices you will find Integrate Bristol, a youth-led In the week we spoke to Integrate, their young charity that has grown from just four young women people had already given a presentation at the who were students at City Academy. We dropped Barnardo’s Annual Conference, joined a conference in to talk to director Lisa at the European Court of Zimmermann to talk about Human Rights in Brussels, what they do. “Integrate Bristol delivered a three hour aims to empower young session at another Academy people to identify the issues in Bristol and met the Prime important to them, to Minister to talk about their campaign and make positive work. “We’re doing a lot changes in their community.” more work on a national level, but our young people Integrate is well-known for Meeting the Prime Minister want to be international. campaigning against FGM and They’re pretty formidable! forced marriage and is And it all started here in BS5.” currently working on a campaign which aims to help people spot the signs of grooming and child Visit www.integratebristol.org.uk exploitation. “Abuse can be very well hidden” Twitter: @FGMsilentscream explains Lisa “often the victim doesn’t realise what is happening to them is abuse.”
One Billion Rising is a campaign to end violence against women. It was launched on Valentine’s Day 2012 and began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. We spoke to Jodi Ahmed from Bristol Rise, who are planning a local event for 14 February 2016. “Our plans are in the very early stages, but it will involve a flash mob, with dancing in the streets” It will be open to women and men who want to come together and rise up against violence towards women. The theme this year is ‘Increasing Activism’. If you’d like to get involved please call Up Our Street on 0117 954 2834 and we can put you in touch with Jodi. 14
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All Hallows Hall, DigiMakers hula hooping. The hall recently hosted the ‘Eastonia’ programme of events, which is about exploring perspectives on the British landscape. A lot of work has already been carried out on the building, but there is still more to be done, especially on the heating system and making the building fully accessible. The co-operative are keen to involve local skilled craftspeople, working alongside local volunteers to put skills back into the community. “Over the next three years we’ve got a lot of hard Ping Pong Parlour: Tuesdays, 7pm to 11pm work to raise funds if we are to buy the building outright.“ The co-operative plans to introduce a membership scheme where people pay a nominal fee of a few pounds and can be involved in the Up Our Street last featured All Hallows Hall in our future of the building. There will be discounts on Spring 2014 edition, so we thought we would catch hire for members, but more importantly the group up with the team of volunteers who are breathing believes it’s about giving the community a say in new life into this community space. We talked to how the building is run. two of the co-operative members, Neil and David, Upcoming Events at All Hallows Hall about events at All Hallows, some of the challenges Medley Winter Market they face, and their plans for the future. 28 and 29 November, 12pm to 4pm “People often see the outside and think its derelict or still a squat, but when they see inside they’re amazed by the hall and the work already done” explains Neil. The regular weekly activities are going well, including Aikido, The Ping Pong Parlour and
Young people in Easton and Lawrence Hill are getting their first taste of computer coding thanks to DigiMakers {Local}. It was set up by Dr John Bradford from HBB, a non-profit company who are also providing a set of laptops and Raspberry Pi units for the project. The DigiMakers {Local} idea is that each community sets up its own hub with local champions acting as mentors. In Barton Hill they have paired up with the Somali Resource Centre. Abdullahi Farah
At the Somali Resource Centre www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
Eastonia part 4: Standing Stones 11 December, 7pm (tickets £5) Visit www.allhallowshall.co.uk explains why his organisation was keen to get involved “some of these kids are struggling in education. They’re living next to this big enterprise zone [Temple Quay] and we want to equip them with the skills they need to participate in this economy. Bristol is a technology hub, I don’t want our young people to miss out.” The group runs every Saturday from 4pm to 5pm at Barton Hill Settlement and is open to those aged eight to 18. Since starting in June there are now 10 to 12 children who come regularly. The idea is that the projects are fun, and it’s not like school. Encouragingly, there is nearly a 50/50 gender split amongst the younger children. John and Abdullahi are keen to recruit more ‘Digi Mentors’ to help keep the group running. John stresses that they don’t need to be professors of computing (in fact he says better if not!) more that they are people who are confident in using technology and are good communicators. John would also like to see DigiMakers groups at other community organisations in the area. If you think you could help out as a Digi Mentor, please call John on 07739 705 578 Up Our Street
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SPAN update
Many of you will know the red brick fronted Silai Centre on Easton Road. We thought it was time we had a look at what happens inside those walls, so we caught up with Moestak Hussein, Community Development Officer for SPAN, the organisation which now owns the building. Single Parent Action Network, known as SPAN, has been supporting lone parents for 25 years. “Two years ago we merged with Silai for Skills and took over running the Silai Centre. We kept the name for the building and we still run some courses in sewing as we feel it’s important to retain that sewing heritage.” SPAN provides a wide range of adult courses in association with City of Bristol College, Learning Communities Team and Learning Curve. They also work with University of Bristol to help widen the participation of the local community. “For some parents, this can mean the first steps to university education”. Childcare places are available in SPAN’s nursery and crèche during course times.
We talk about SPAN’s four-strong parenting support team managed by Annie Oliver, Sally works with diverse families, Suad supports Somali families and Jason works with fathers. “Jason’s role is unique in Bristol” says Moestak “he works with fathers with very complex needs. They may have just come out of prison, or might not have contact with their children due to child protection issues. He helps them get their lives back on track.”
Moestak at the 2015 Thank You awards book in to see a solicitor, get help with debt , benefits and housing advice. They work in partnership with Bristol’s support organisations and can always find the right kind of help for parents on just about any issue. One of the key things that SPAN does is to deliver a 12 week parenting course called Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities. “The programme looks at our families’ cultural and spiritual needs, enhancing relationships, discipline, rites of passage and community involvement, it’s open to all…” explains Moestak. “Everyone needs help with parenting sometimes. It’s about learning new techniques and skills to use with your family. The sessions are really valuable, I’ve attended some of the sessions and definitely learnt some new things myself.”
SPAN also brings in specialists, currently you can The Silai Centre has a fully equipped café at its heart, which was recently decorated by a group of art students. It’s not currently in operation however it should be up and running again in the next few weeks. All of the rooms, including training rooms, sewing room, upholstery room, the café among others are available to rent.
You can contact the SPAN team on 0117 955 4055 Or visit www.spanuk.org.uk The team at SPAN
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Brigstowe Project, Verso Hair Solutions people coming and going, our clients aren’t singled out. Anonymity and confidentiality is crucial to our work.” As well as one-off appointments around specific topics such as finances, benefits, etc, the team at Brigstowe is also able to provide in depth support and advice. This allows them to build relationships with their clients, which can last up to two years if needed.
L-R Miriam, Polly, Lauren
The Brigstowe Project offers free and confidential advice and support to people living with HIV. The organisation celebrates its twentieth anniversary next year. We spoke to Polly Theedom about how things have changed since the organisation started. “In the western world we have the medication these days that means HIV can be well-managed. These days it’s more about emotional support, and dealing with the social stigma.” We talk about being based at the Silai Centre “the building has real cultural diversity… Also because there are lots of different organisations here, lots of
They run a range of social events and workshops for people living with HIV, these have included topics such as managing sleep; as insomnia affects up to 70% of people with HIV. Miriam runs a service for migrants and asylum seekers living with HIV. Some of these clients have complex needs due to destitution and trauma which often requires long term and intensive support. A new project for the Brigstowe team is a peer support programme, which involves recruiting volunteers who are currently ‘living well’ with HIV and training them to provide support for people recently diagnosed or struggling with their HIV status. Polly explains that “It’s very empowering for those involved. It shows what is possible.”
Visit www.brigstowe.org or phone 0117 955 5038
Also based at the Silai Centre is Verso Hair Solutions. Delmar opened his unisex hair salon earlier this year. When we ask Delmar about how he first started cutting hair, he grins and shows us a photo of boxer Darren Hamilton “this the first guy I ever took the clippers to… I was about 13, we were just young kids messing about with a shaver, but people liked what I’d done. And so it just went from there.”
Delmar at work
Delmar completed his NVQ2 in Barbering last year with Reflections Training Academy and is keen to do his NVQ3 “I want to encourage other young people to get the skills too, learn practical skills but get a qualification. I’d like to work with colleges, get an apprentice in here”.
Verso Hair Solutions is open 10am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Contact Delmar on 07748 049 444
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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Capoeira, The Faraway Tree Capoeira was created in Brazil by African slaves over 500 years ago. It was a hidden culture and from this comes the tradition that everyone practising Capoeira has a nickname. Rad and Lise have recently started promoting the group more widely and have the supervision of a Capoeira master from Brazil with over 25 years’ experience. People are welcome to come along for a free taster session, after that it’s £30 for block of five sessions or £45 for a block of ten. Currently the group is for adults and children age 10+ , but they would like to start a separate childrens’ class.
Tucked away in a building that looks like a warehouse in Heber Street, you wouldn’t expect to hear Brazilian rhythms in the air. We followed the music and climbed the stairs to meet Rad and Lise, who have been practising Capoeira in Redfield for nearly five years. When asked to describe it, Rad says “for everyone, Capoeira is something different. There is dance, fighting, acrobatics, singing, learning about Brazilian culture. It’s about building your own Capoeira. Plus it’s a pretty good workout too!”
The Faraway Tree opened at 136 Church Road earlier this year, and has been busy serving coffee and cake, breakfasts and lunches to Redfield shoppers. The café is the long-held dream of local women Angie and Amy, who have already built a reputation as a family friendly café. As the café is now open in the evening, Up Our Street went to see what was on the menu.
From watching the session it’s obvious that everyone is enjoying themselves. “For me, it just takes my mind away, it’s the way to escape” says Lise. “You leave your problems at the door. And there is always something new to learn.” Rad is Polish and Lise is French, other members are English, German and Spanish “it’s a good cultural mix, it brings people together.” The group meets at 3 Heber Street, Redfield on Thursdays 6.30pm to 8pm and Saturdays 10.30am to 12pm Visit www.capoeira-bristol.com of salad or vegetables are available for £2. We just about had space for pudding and can particularly recommend the apple and berry crumble (£3.50) which had a beautifully crunchy topping with a satisfyingly tart mix of fruit underneath, served with lashings of cream!
We popped in on a Saturday night and the atmosphere was laid back with families, couples and groups of friends enjoying their meals. The décor is white painted brick walls, colourful mismatched chairs and tea-lights dotted about on the tables. There is a small menu of three evening specials, which changes regularly. Head Chef Angie is keen to use seasonal and local produce where possible and the dishes have a mainly European influence. We chose the baked salmon and hake with crispy lasagne sheets (£9) and the traditional Spanish meatballs in a rich tomato sauce (£8.50). The meatballs are a comforting choice as the nights draw in, and were a generous portion. Side dishes 18
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Café owners Angie and Amy The Faraway Tree is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 11pm and Sundays 9am to 4pm. Contact the café on 0117 955 7298
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
The Dings youth club, Bristol arena meet new people. The activity I most like is the cooking.” Mohammed Abdul (12) has been coming for around two years. He lives right by the park so it’s very handy for him “it’s something to do, sometimes there’s nothing to do in the park. I look forward to youth club. If it wasn’t here it would be quite boring.” Majella (14) is now a volunteer and helps out with activities “being here is a place to chill out, away from school. It would have a negative impact if the group wasn’t here, it’s a safe space.” Callum (16) is at college, he used to come when he was younger and is now a volunteer “everyone who comes here Playing pool in The Dings lives locally, there’s a relaxed and calm atmosphere. I’d say to anyone to come and try it, As it was starting to get dark one Friday evening, Up Our Street went to visit the young people at the we have lots of different activities.” Dings youth club run by Learning Partnership West Callum and Majella were recently nominated by and the Dings Community Association. As we Learning Partnership West staff for Up Our Street arrive there is a smell of cooking in the air, so while Thank You Awards, and both attended the event pasta bake was in the oven we asked the group on 15 October. what they enjoy about youth club and what it means to them. The Dings youth club is open from 7pm to 9pm every Friday at The Dings Park. It’s open to Sammy (12) has been coming on and off for a year young people from 10 to 19 years old. “I play outside, cook with Dan, play pool. Everyone has their own thing.” Maria (13) says “It’s good to
The Bristol Arena was discussed at the last Neighbourhood Partnership meeting. Residents raised questions around issues such as parking provision, disabled parking, local job creation and public transport to the site. There was also some discussion about the cost of the development during a time of cuts to welfare and public services. The consultation closed in mid-October, so we contacted the team at Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, who gave us the following statement: “The
A large volume of feedback has been received, which will be considered by the arena team as work continues in preparing the proposals for planning. When the applications are submitted, a further statutory consultation will take place, and details of the planning documents and supporting technical reports will be available to view and comment on the council’s planning portal at ww.bristol.gov.uk by following the planning links. A summary of the planning applications and responses to the consultation feedback will also be available at www.bristoltemplequarter.com/arena and in local libraries. There has been widespread support for the arena during the consultation and some positive feedback on the proposed design. Some of the emerging issues from the consultation include the quality of pedestrian and cycle routes on the Bath Rd, visitors parking on nearby residential streets, noise and the impact of additional traffic in the area.”
Bristol Arena is a new, world-class 12,000 capacity entertainment venue due to be located on Arena Island, the former diesel depot site near Bristol Temple Meads. For the past month, Bristol City Council and the Arena Project Team have been consulting with key stakeholders and the public on the proposals via briefings, drop-in sessions, public exhibitions and online. Up Our Street will keep you up to date with Arena news as it becomes available.
www.eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk
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Tackling unemployment
Tackling unemployment across the inner city is what drives Effiom Ene-Obong, who set up The Society in May 2014. He describes The Society as “an alternative employment agency”. It’s a non-profit organisation completely staffed by volunteers. The Society aims to build relationships with local employers and help unemployed people into work.
He believes that there is a need for more support for the unemployed, particularly for black and minority ethnic communities. “We want to help people get permanent work, help them stay in work and get promoted.”
The Society is planning a series of mobile job clubs in Easton and Lawrence Hill from January to March next year. These will focus on practical skills for job hunting including CV writing and interview practice. They Effiom has a background in marketing and worked are keen to hold the job clubs in local cafés, and for ten years in the private sector helping people would like to hear from café owners who could set up in business. Although he enjoyed travelling help out. around the UK he ended up feeling burnt out and wanted to work on something with more meaning. Contact Effiom on 0780 469 6986
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