POD: let’s offer most vulnerable Romanians a chance a text by Laura Chilintan 1. Introduction That Romanians have recently been vilified in the British press is all too known. From the people of mysterious Transylvania, Romanians have become associated with crime, begging, benefits and with taking other people’s jobs. But, apart from the image created in the press, this negative coverage was most of the times right to point out that we have problems. We are definitely not the only ones, and not with the most problems, as one reading the news might be tempted to think. But we cannot ignore the fact that some Romanians in London (more than anywhere in the UK) are homeless, work on the black market and commit subsistence crime (non-violent). Project POD’s objective is to expand Ashford Place’s support services to include a (growing) Romanian population who wants to work and integrate. It primarily aims to support the inclusion of Romanians into the official labour market and into accommodation (as opposed to working on the black market and sleeping on the streets). Services include support for work documents, CV and job search support, English language classes, accommodation search support, registering with a GP, showers, clothing, daily canteen, etc. 2. The Context 2.1. Who is Ashford Place? Ashford Place is a 30 year-old community resource, supporting its most marginalised members. Apart from the services mentioned above, Ashford Place has also developed programs and activities to engage youth, elderly and other groups in football, social support groups and other one-off activities. Image 1. Asford Place’s offices. For instance, between April 2012 and April 2013, Ashford Place supported 1,184 individuals. Some of the activities were: • 107 people were supported into employment • 75 people were supported into private rented housing • 101 accessed the winter shelter • 349 ate in our canteen • 575 attended English Language classes. 2.2. Why POD at Ashford Place? Ashford Place is situated in a very relevant place for Romanian economic migration. Firstly, it is in the area called Cricklewood, which is where black market work starts. ‘Employers’ pick people up on two streets in Cricklewood which are 5 minutes away from Ashford Place. Secondly, the organisation is part of the borough of Brent, where there is a large number of Romanians economic migrants . ‘Why here?’, we often asked. And it seems that Romanians have spread the word about this area to their family, friends and neighbours, thus developing networks here. Thirdly, Brent is the most diverse borough in London, and probably in the UK, as well as among the poorest ones. It is the borough with the highest numbers of NINo requests too, showing that it is the first point of entry for many other people in similar situations (e.g. from Somalia, Eritrea, Poland, Hungary etc.). Finally, the black market in Cricklewood has been present for more than 50 years, having started with Irish migrants, then Polish, and now Romanians. However, although we work in Cricklewood, we aim to include Romanians living pan-London. 3. Research findings Ashford Place identified the need for action since June 2013, in the face of growing crime levels and increasing resident discontent. At the charity’s request, I have conducted research on the Romanian population waiting on the black market, from September 2013 to January 2014. Interviews and focus groups with Romanian black market workers, residents and local businesses revealed the following: 3.1. Interviews with Romanian black market workers • Romanians standing on the black market come from areas characterised by poverty and unemployment Image 2. Where Romanian rough sleepers identified by Ashford Place come from, 2014. Image 3. Romanian’s poverty map . Source: Capital, 9 January 2014 . Image 4. Apata village (Romania) and Chichele Road (UK, where black market workers are being recruited). Source: Google Maps. Image 5. Belini village (Romania) and Ashford Place Road (UK, where black market workers used to be recruited). Source: Google Maps. • They are men who often have histories of migration to other countries, and have 3-4 children • They are highly motivated to work, and to endure almost any conditions for it (and that’s why they sometimes prefer to save and sleep rough than to spend money on accommodation) • A relatively large part of them are Roma, or from villages where a large number of Roma live • They are often exploited by employers, who drive them at long distances, pay them little or nothing, etc • These makes their lives stressful, and the lack of support makes it even harder; they also feel like they miss out on family events or activities 3.2. Interviews with residents and local businesses There were very high levels of discontent among residents, but far less among local businesses. Residents, especially women, felt intimidated by the groups of men hanging around. They started changing their walking and jogging routes to avoid them. Others were concerned about them not paying taxes, looking in their bins etc. The levels of discontent have only got higher, as Ashford Place receives daily emails about Romanian economic migrants. 3.3. The extent of the problem Romanians have become the nation with the second highest number of arrests in the Brent and Barnet (Cricklewood is an area at the crossroads of Brent, Barnet and Camden), after UK nationals in 2013 (Figures 1 and 2). Figure 1. Top 10 nationalities of all subjects arrested in the last 12 months, Barnet borough, 2013. Source: Barnet NPT. Figure 2. Top 10 nationalities of all subjects arrested in the last 12 months, Brent borough, 2013. Source: Barnet NPT. Another issue is rough sleeping. A relatively large percent of Romanians that were arrested in Brent (21%) and Barnet (23%) were of no fixed abode (NPT, 2013).Moreover, Brent and Barnet have the highest rates of Romanian rough sleepers in London (25% and 21%, respectively – Figure 3). Furthermore, over the past seven years, the numbers of Romanians who have been seen sleeping rough in Brent have increased sharply. In 2013, between July and September, the number of Romanian rough sleepers in Brent was, for the first time, equal to that of UK citizens in Brent (Figure 4). Figure 3. Romanian Rough Sleepers in London, by borough, 2013. Source: Ashford Place. Figure 4. Percents of Romanian and UK Rough Sleepers in Brent between 2010 and 2013. Source: Ashford Place. 4. Why is POD needed? POD means ‘bridge’ in Romanian. If Romanians are willing to work legally, live in rented accommodation and integrate in the UK in general, we are providing them with a bridge that they can cross. Thus, assisting them with work and accommodation (mainly but not only) has four main advantages. Firstly, it would promote a more positive image of Romania, as the most vulnerable people, who are often the target of the media, would be supported to lead more dignified and independent lives. Secondly, ‘subsistence’/petty/non-violent crime levels would decrease. Thirdly, it would make residents feel safer, and provide a platform for Romanian nationals to be a more active and positive part of the communities in London. Finally, Romanians would contribute to British taxes, and this action would save taxpayer funds which go towards outreach work, policing, park maintenance, etc. 5. Our work so far 5.1. Outreach and Reconnection In partnership with the MET Police, we have verified Romanian rough sleepers and assisted those which wanted to go back to Romania to access the Reconnection programme (offering destitute people one chance to return to their homes for free). 5.2 Voluntary support For five months, we had opened Ashford Place’s support services to Romanian nationals, in the hope that we would soon receive funding. Whilst at the beginning there was one volunteer, after one month we were two, coming once a week and assisting clients with work documents mainly (and other services too), as well as continuing the engaging with the police, the Romanian Embassy, local authorities, residents’ associations, the media and community members. Image 6. Some of the Romanians waiting for volunteer support. During this time, we have engaged with 78+ clients, with the following outcomes: • 39 supported with NINos, • 34 ESOL referrals, • 11 reconnections, • 8 accessed the winter shelter, • 51 lunches, • 72 showers, • 34 receive their post here, • 21 clothing/laundry activities. Image 7. Ashford Place’s reception. To record our work, we have developed a POD database in the system. However, activities before that have not been recorded, so the records below are far less than the work done. Nonetheless, we have these details in the database now. At the end of May, we stopped providing voluntary services, as the demand was increasing, and it was almost impossible to fundraise whilst providing support. Thus, we decided that a more sustainable strategy would be to simply focus on fundraising, in the hope that we would find support to this urgent matter faster than if we also provided support to Romanian nationals. 5.3. A story Stefan is in his 50s and came to the UK in 2013. He easily found work and earned money. He brought his partner over here, but soon found himself unemployed, and had to send his partner back. In the meantime, he found Ashford Place, where he was offered sheltered accommodation (a winter programme, where rough sleepers are accommodated in churches), as well as employment support. He applied and received his NINo, made a CV and applied to various jobs. He first found a part-time job in a clothes store, and then found a full-time one in a laundry company (for hotel bedding). We also made a savings plan, to see how much he needed to save so that he can afford to rent a room. By that time the winter shelter had closed, and he had to move back to a garage again. Soon after, he lost his job, as, at his age, he cannot give as much energy as younger labourers can, and the market is competitive. Also, he will soon be evicted from his garage. If we had support services in place, we would have assisted him to find another job, and to update his CV: instead, he now has to look for jobs literally from door to door. 5.3. Fundraising event On the 6th of May, Ashford Place, in partnership with the Ratiu Foundation, organised a fundraising event. On the night, we raised £1760. Also, some people kindly set up monthly donations, whilst others (individuals and companies) offered various forms of support (e.g. with English classes). We have also set up a newsletter, with updates on the progress of POD. 6. Current strategy Whilst there are few other organisations who provide similar support (mainly work-related) on a voluntary basis (e.g. MY Romania Group). However, they address a more stable segment of the Romanian population (people who have accommodation, more qualifications, etc.). This project, however, cannot, by any means, be based on volunteers. It is not optional – this support is a basic assistance that is available to almost all nationals in the UK. Supporting most vulnerable individuals is key to any society’s progress. Why Romanians are not assisted? In our case, it is simply the currently overstretched budget of the charity, which cannot include a relatively numerous population such as Romanians. POD touches on the controversial and sensitive issue of vulnerable Romanians in the UK. We have often been asked if we are not encouraging people to come over by supporting them to find work and accommodation. This is certainly not the case. Together with the police, we have decided that Romanians will be given access to our services on the basis that they prove that they no longer work on the black market and that, once they have saved some money, they seek to rent a room (and we have developed ways of monitoring that). Furthermore, Romanians come here anyway. Before we provided voluntary assistance and after we ceased to do that, numbers have remained the same. It is clear that the motivation to work abroad is strong, regardless of how prepared migrants are to do so. We have seen that our work is effective in helping people become more independent: 78 people left Ashford Place with more potential for independence. We have a platform where we can provide support: Ashford Place. We have developed a database and measured our outcomes. We are supported by the Romanian Embassy and the police in our endeavour. We have two dedicated volunteers who are willing to start providing support again, as well as a handful of people who can enrich the opportunities available (for example, with jobs for Romanian-speakers, English classes, Bed and Breakfast, etc). What we lack at the moment is funding. 7. Contact details Would you like to sign up to the newsletter? Would you like to receive the research report on black market work? Would you like to offer support to POD? Would you like to promote our cause? Then, please get in touch with us! Laura Chilintan, Project POD Coordinator, at [email protected] Adelina Cega, Project POD Caseworker, at adelina.cega@gmail Lucien Lawrence, Outreach Coordinator, at [email protected] John Doocey, Director of Community Services, at [email protected] Ashford Place | 60 Ashford Road | London | NW2 6TU tel: 020 8208 8590 (ext 221) l fax: 020 8452 1373 web: ashfordplace.org.uk twitter: @ashford_place facebook: /ashfordplace.org.uk tel: 020 8208 8590 l fax: 020 8452 1373 (Formerly Cricklewood Homeless Concern) Registered Charity: 1097475 Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales: 04407339
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 07:14:22 +0000
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