Marching for the alternative.

On Saturday 26/03/11 a monumental resistance to the cuts that are facing the UK occurred. Contrary to media coverage of the protest in London, which reported a quarter of a million people marching, closer to 3/4 million people marched, they marched in protest against the wide spread, ripping cuts that are going to tear into the lives of vulnerable, disadvantaged people across the UK.

Reports from the media have emphasised the violence and destruction that a minority of people caused. The number of arrests was minmal . I do not condone the violence. I oppose it.

I would like to share my perception of the march with you.

I arrived on Maid Marian Way on Saturday morning at 6:15, I was shocked at the mass of people who were also travelling from Nottingham to London. The journey there was electric, adrenalin running high and people really getting in the mood to express themselves peacefully. 
When we arrived, the atmosphere in London was strange, police everywhere and any way we turned there was a banner of some kind floating through London on the way to The Embankment. I joined my friends and their children and started our journey.
On my shoulders I had a six year old, who had brought her gazoo with her to make some noise, she collected every badge, sticker, banner, leaflet aong the way that she could carry, and kept them for as long she could carry them. She asked me "why are we here?" I stopped for a minute and thought, how do I go about explaining all of this to a six year old, as militant as she is?  I didn't know where to start, I just said  we were to make some noise so the Prime Minister might change his mind about the rules he was making. She was happy with that, blew a raspberry with her gazoo and starting shouting "build a bonfire...." with the rest of the crowd.
Why did we march? what is the alternative? What difference did the march make?
For me the march did a number of things, it gave me a sense of unity with my fellow humans, it gave me a sense of pride that I was surrounded by people, all ages, all cultures, all races and all classes who were there to say no to the cuts.  Who were there say "not in my name ConDem". There to protect the livlihoods and lives of everyday people.
I am overwhelmed at the movement that occurred on 26/03/11 and I am proud of all that took part, and I hope when that six year old is 17/18 and she remembers going to the march, she will be proud of what she helped to achieve. Things are going to change. They simply have to.

I have been away - sorry.

I sit here tonight and write as a saddened person.
Today I met a young guy, intelligent, funny, compassionate, a father and  studying full time. I sat with him for a few hours talking about his plans for his future, his life so far and how he planned on nurtuing a relationship with his daughter who is a month old. We sat for a few hours whilst we waited for 2 local authority departments argue out who owed him the statutory duty that would stop him sleeping rough tomorrow night.
He is 16 - just.


This amazing young man with his whole life ahead him.
This amazing young man who is a part of this countries future.
This amazing young man who took the morning off school to tackle his homelessness.
This amazing young man who went back to school at 13:00 to go to his English lesson.

Full of hope.
Full of wonder.
Full of freedom.

As I sat there, I recieved the email about the closure of 2 potential services that could have been available to him.

In awe, hopeful, driven, passionate, free, humourous, intelligent, willing, determined and HOMELESS.

I cried today, I cried because I dont know what will happen to the 100 people on the services that I manage who will have to leave the service.
I cried because I can't be sure that that 16 year old CHILD will be alright.
I cried because I have seen a Nottingham City without effective services, where people were dying of being cold.
I cried because I look around me at the 100's of dedicated and committed workers who fight day in, day out for the rights of thier service users, who sat dumb struck at an email which informed of us the local authority's decision of which services to end for good!!
I cried beacause I care.

A night out in Nottingham City.

I was out this weekend, for a few drinks in town. This is what I experienced:

• 8 PEOPLE on the streets of Nottingham
• 11 PEOPLE  offering their bodies in exchange for money. 
• A man who appeared to be about 50, sleeping on St James street in a shirt, pair of jeans and with no sleeping bag or blanket.

Each and everyone of these PEOPLE is vulnerable and each and everyone being exploited in one way or another. Perhaps by an individual, a substance but all by the system.

I sat and spoke to a few of the PEOPLE who were rough sleeping and learned of their stories and exchanged names. Tried to offer some practical advice about services and give them advice. I sat and listened and spoke and had a coffee and I looked around me, at the amount of people who were just walking by and I realsied I had become invisible too.


I was am angered that people can just walk past humans, PEOPLE in pain, distress and not see it. They are so caught up in thier own existence that they failed to see life. That angers me, that dissappointts me and ultimately confuses me! Where is the compassion and/or empathy  for people less fortunate?
 Can you imagine being constantly ignored by the society in which you live and being disregarded?

104% APR

We have a new worker in the team doing some relief for us.Lets call him Rob.

Rob is from a manufacturing and IT background and not worked in this field before. He started volunteering with one of  Frameworks services and is now doing floating support work.
I think its fair to say, that Rob was surprised at what our service users were experiencing.  
He returned from a support session today and was absolutley dismayed to learn that a service user had borrowed £500.00 from a loan company, with a repayment of £26.00 per week. The service user is totally dependent on the benefit system and cannot afford to repay such a loan. The loan has doubled in a matter of weeks and the service user is now being threatened by a "friendly collection agent".

Rob and the team  will of course be working with the service user for as long as our service exists to make a more reasonable repayment plan and deal with the harrassment from the "friendly collection agent".


Another scenario:

Jack has a mortgage on his 4 bedroomed house and has worked all of his adult life.  Jack has a wife and had 3 children, until one died last year.   Jack, has learning difficulties and cannot read or write.  Jack and his family are going through some very difficult times having lost their teenage daughter recently. Jack was in full time work but couldn't bare to go back after the death of his daughter because he felt he couldn't face people at work or handle their questions and/or sympathy. Jack is doing some agency work but not full time. Jacks wife, lets call her Mandy, has not left her family home since the funeral of her daughter and is suffering from agoraphobia, she is also self harming and has suicidal thoughts. There are also 2 other children in the home.   This family have a lot going on and need suppport. Jack  tells me he got a van to help him get work. "Great" I say. How much did it cost? Jack goes on to tell me that he has signed an agreement with a company. I have now looked at the legally binding contract, and Jack has leased a van for a massive amount per month. He will never, ever own that van and he will be paying them thousands of pounds!!


You see most  people who don't work in the field like Rob, have no idea what kind of scam like loans or arrangements there are out there!! 

It is outrageous that the companies that pull these cons will continue to exist but the services that can help people out of these tricky situations won't - don't you think?

decisions, decisions!!

Earlier today I recieved an email from a colleague about a vacancy they had seen at a childrens charity. The job advertised seems right up my street, decent salary(more than I am on now, significantly more!), interesting role and totally doable. I looked it up and thought about applying.

Later this afternoon, I was working at my PC and 2 of my team came in and started talking about an assessment they had just done. They were full of enthusiasm, compassion, empathy, soloutions, speaking of injustice and advocating for the service user.

As I sat there, the application for the other job drifted into my mind - I caught up with myself and realised that I don't want to work anywhere else!! I want to come into Val Roberts House and see the people I see, work with  my very committed team, fight for the rights of the people we support, help change a system that isn't going to provide and stay put.

You see an extra six, seven grand would be quite nice, even a change could be quite nice, but I love going to work, I love it when our team stops a teenage parent being evicted, I love it when a 17 year old parent who thinks they can't go back to college to get some qualifications - does exactly that, when parents with their children on the child protection register go to a meeting and due to their hard work and perseverance their children are taken off the list, when one of Frameworks service users sits on a recruitment panel to employ a new worker - i love those things.

After 7 years of seeing people survive and resist their demons, I am staying put, going nowhere and striving forward.

Its a sad fact that there will always be disadvantaged and vulnerable people but the great thing is, is I am with them.

Are you?

I am struggling with that.

I have just learned that the Barclays boss is due to recieve a £9 million pound bonus. How can the government justify that happening?


I have always struggled with the fact that money is more valuable than people, that crimes against property are more heavily penalised than crimes against a person.

How can the bank boss in question live with himself?

How can he accept such a sum, surely he is aware of what is happening in the world around him.

Maybe I am being too Nottscentric but surely he can see the cuts that have been made to other Northern cities, like Liverpool.

And it  is to be remembered that that is just one bank boss - there are many more.

I wonder what the total amount of money paid out in bonuses is?

Does anyone know?

Another week done but its a friday!!

Well thats another week over. But upon leaving the office, I am left with the uncomfortable thought that a service user we were supporting throughout the day was feeling scared, vulnerable and didn't know what to do or where to go.  Thats the hard thing about this job, there is only so much one can do. There are no magic wands!!

For the purpose of this blog lets call the service user Sophia. Sophia has 8 children in her care, ranging from 4 months to 14 years. She is a single parent and doesn't speak any English. Today her eviction notice found its final day and Sophia was extremely anxious about what to do next!! The problem is that Sophia does not have any recourse to public funds so therefore cannot claim benefits, get any social housing or get social care to help feed her children.

Sophia has been living off of child benefit and tax credits for the last 9 months and cant work due to the ages of her children. She came here as an ecomnomic migrant  - in the governments eyes, but she was actually fleeing racial persecution from her country of origin. Sophia is of Roma descent - commonly referred to as a Gypsy.

Sophia has been unable to pay her rent, is not married and doesnt have a partner so the pressure on her is enormous. Her life here is far from perfect and she isnt pleased with the way her life has turned out her, but she finds it easier to endure than the racial attacks she was experiencing back home.

So I leave work today, pleased I am going to spend my weekend with my loved ones and feeling incredibly priveliged. But ultimately knowing that Sophia and her 8 children will be scared, alone and fearing that her landlord will turn up and forcibly remove her from her home. Despite this being illegal.

I wonder how many people are hidden away like this? I am sure I only get to see the tip of the iceberg. What will happen when the cuts come in?

What do you think?