Project POD newsletter #5 HELLO! I’m not sure if this is good or bad news – on the one hand, there is no funding secured yet; on the other hand, the two community meetings and the information sharing that has occurred recently makes us confident to say that we are taking the right steps to ensuring the answer to the problem of rough sleeping and black market work is appropriate. Let us tell you why we think so. WALKABOUT, 21ST JUNE On the 21st of June, 60 people, half of which residents, met in Gladstone park for a walkabout - a meeting where residents show relevant parties what their concerns are, by physically walking to the areas where (mainly Romanian) rough sleepers live. The walkabout sparked discussions between Ashford Place, residents, councillors and other relevant organisations. By then, residents’ feelings of sympathy for people living in bad conditions had been replaced by frustration with the nuisance caused by litter, drinking, defecation in the parks, and the feeling of unsafety in the area. The walkabout was successful in bringing clarification to questions they had – for example, knowing that the groups of men who stand on Chichele Road every day are actually waiting for black market work (as opposed to, for instance, being organised crime) was a novelty to some, who were suspicious of this ‘organised standing’. LOCAL RESIDENTS’ MEETING, 7th AUGUST Following the very productive walkabout in the park, residents expressed a desire to have a follow up meeting where partners such as police, parks teams, immigration and councillors could address this growing problem. Thus, we organised a local residents’ meeting at Ashford Place, based on a novel understanding of Romanian economic migration. That is, as Sergeant Bryan Wappat said during the meeting, the problem of Romanian rough sleepers in Cricklewood is unique in the sense that people do not want (rather than cannot afford) to be in accommodation. Instead, they prefer to save money and sleep in tents. For example, Adelina mentioned a client who was rough sleeping, but who had bought the latest iPhone version at that time for his daughter. And, from our and from police’s experience, this is definitely not an isolated case. The meeting was well attended by councillors, Romanian and British police, the Romanian Embassy, park teams, local organisations and residents. The meeting was lively and the Q&A session was longer than presentations, which showed how pressing the issue is. Apart from information sharing, the meeting reflected a need for more enforcement for those who do not wish to integrate by renting and working legally. There are plans for byelaws being introduced in parks, to prevent any sort of settlement. Also, as there is a very strong correlation between rough sleeping and black market work, currents efforts to close it (through posters and police presence) will continue. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR POD? It has become clear to us that migrants who see themselves as temporary and who solely wish to bring money home will not wish to integrate (e.g. by seeking accommodation). For POD, this means that support services will either not present interest to them, or they will be denied access on the basis of their intentions. We do not want to see people with legal jobs, who can afford accommodation, sleeping in the park. It would mean that we are supporting what we are trying to combat. However, POD’s role remains crucial. Even more, enforcement is actually beneficial for engaging with clients. If Romanian migrants understand that working without documents and sleeping in parks is not an option in the UK, some will be motivated to apply for a NI number, and to seek accommodation. And, from outreach and from Adelina’s more than four-year long work with Romanian economic migrants, we know that there is a significant number of people who will want to do so. And this is where POD comes in. MMM I am mentioning My Mobility Mentor (MMM) for those interested in parallel work on POD-related issues (i.e. Romanian economic migration). MMM is an EU-funded pilot project which seeks to understand whether strengthening information sharing between migrant-sending countries (Romania and Bulgaria) and migrant-receiving countries (Belgium, Italy and the UK) can reduce ‘harmful’ migration (which makes people more vulnerable and exposed to life-threatening dangers). It is probable that some of our clients will serve as a control group for the UK-based project in November. Please find attached a poster for the MMM event on the 10th of November. You are welcome, and please let others who might be interested know about it. FINALLY We haven’t mentioned much about funding here, but I promise I will in the next newsletter. Work continues, with fresh insights from outreach and meetings. Being a complex issue, with no easy solutions, it takes time. But we are confident that all these efforts will bring positive results, some of which I have mentioned in previous newsletters. GET INVOLVED Finally, if you would like to support the work we do at Ashford Place for the Romanian community, please do so in one or more of the following ways: • VOLUNTEER • Let us know of any AVAILABLE HOUSING • Inform us of any JOB OPPORTUNITIES for Romanian nationals • DONATE - directly to Ashford Place at ashfordplace.org.uk/donatetoprojectpod_18231.html • PROMOTE our cause to other contacts you have. With best wishes, Laura, Adelina, Lucien, John If you would like more information about Project POD Laura Chilintan Ashford Place |60 Ashford Road | London | NW2 6TU tel: 020 8208 8590 l fax: 020 8452 1373 email: [email protected] Image 1: Local Residents’ Meeting, 7th August. Image 2: Outreach Fryent Park, Romanian rough sleepers from Araci village, 19th August.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:05:09 +0000
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