ANOTHER WORLD

SHOW SOME LOVE

LET’S FACE IT, 2020 BROUGHT with it some incredible challenges for everyone, but Becky Bellamy and Connor Kerr - the duo behind AWB - spent the year adapting their model to fit an ever changing ‘new normal’ while also bringing us everything from digital events like ‘QueerVC’ to a ‘Tools For School’ themed run of trolley drives and street performance antics like their ‘National Elf Service’.

Connor commented “When lockdown first hit

In March 2020, with regular events, gatherings and protests on hold, we found ourselves both snowed under with requests for our Show Some Love Pack project whilst at the same time opportunities to bring our community together disappeared. For us its essential, end of the world or not, that we focus not only on the symptoms of inequality but also its causes. With that in mind we started to volunteer our time and skills with the amazing Service user network NI, run by Council for the Homeless NI, that stand up for the rights and needs of people who have experience of substance use. As the pandemic effectively shut down all markets and opportunities to operate the social enterprise aspect of what we did, we were grateful Becky ended up taking a maternity cover role acting as a project coordinator and somewhat ironically, lending some of the skills to help run the project that she gained working for 13 years for global drinks giant Diageo, in a poacher turned gamekeeper scenario. While I have been doing most of the heavy lifting with AWB” shifting the public narrative and associated stigma around problematic substance use. The more we found out, the more we wanted to know. Finding out how the global war on drugs is one of the main drivers of inequality, and is based in racism, capitalism, and control has been a real eye opener.

We’d always been fans of the Johan Hari Ted Talk ‘Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong’. Now that we are fully bought into the brilliant analysis of prohibition in his book ‘Chasing the scream’, we have been blown away by how our society today has been so thoroughly brainwashed, but many countries are finally changing how people experiencing addictions are treated, such as Switzerland and Portugal.

Did you know that according to a report published by the WHO, 90% of people who use drugs do so without harm? Neither did we. Also turns out the most harmful substance of all, is readily available at your local supermarket - alcohol.

Whilst trying to get our heads around these issues we have been privileged enough to meet some incredible people trying to move the dial on prohibition via education, empathy, and empowerment such as Dr Orflaith Campbell, who will soon be discussing her ground-breaking research later this year with none other than the incredible Blindboy Podcast. Those opportunities to learn and grow are invaluable” On talking about the past year’s negative and positive impacts Connor commented “We received the incredible news in the summer that we have been shortlisted for a national diversity award in the LGBT community organisation category, which blew us away. The ceremony is understand being delayed due to COVID-19 but it gave us a much needed lift. Reading the reasons people nominated us really touched us. It has reminded us that it is vital to look after our heads and our health and helped us to keep going during the toughest times. Our work is founded on the knowledge that helping other people is the key to happiness, it has saved both of our lives, but it’s also important to look after ourselves and maintain personal and professional boundaries to remain compassionate.”

Our message to SHOW SOME LOVE is increasingly the embodiment of how we work and where we find our power. As the LEGEND that is RuPaul says “if you can’t love yourself, then how the hell you gonna love someone else?” For us, that means self-care, trusting ourselves, always speaking the truth and standing up for yourself and for each other. We are stronger when we work together for a better future. When we can unite all the marginalised groups of society, and recognise each other’s experience and value, we will impact society for the better”.

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