Hackney leaders ended 2010 with a clear resolution for 2011: work together for the common good.
Across Hackney, we have about fifteen civil society institutions (schools, churches, and charity organisations) in membership of TELCO Citizens and we have spent the past couple of months listening to hundreds of members in our communities. Identifying issues that matter to our people through house groups and various other listening exercises, all member groups decided to meet in early December to identify ways that could get all our institutions in Hackney to work collectively on a shared agenda. two top priorities were identified: safety and transport.
Fr Rob Wickham, Rector of Hackney (St John at Hackney Church, in Hackney Central), shared a very moving testimony at our Steering Group Meeting. Talking about the death of young people as a priest, and the fear of crime as a dad, it became clear that safety was an issue we needed to address. all the people in the room connected to what he said: we all know someone, or of someone, who’s been attacked.
Rebecca, a student from Skinners’ Academy, in Manor House, also shared a testimony with us, on some of the transport issues she and her friends often face as they make their way home after school. again, we all realised that she was describing something we’d experienced.
As transport and safety are issues which are common to all institutions across Hackney Citizens, we have agreed to begin a research-action phase to turn our worries into specific priorities. the idea is to turn problems into practical solutions we can work on over the next few months, building power in and between our institutions, but also building relationships with public officials across the borough. Our work will feed into the wider London Citizens CitySafe campaign, a campaign which has been developed over the past couple of years across London and which has gained the strong support of politicians (including Mayor Boris Johnson, Mayor Luftur Rahman of Tower Hamlets, and Mayor Steve Bullock of Lewisham) as well as the London Metropolitan Police.
“What does safety mean on my street, or near our church, or on our estates?” is the question we are now spending the next few weeks trying to answer. Similarly, with transport: “What does it mean for us at our school? Or near our church?”
Being specific is one of the first steps we are are taking as we are developing focused actions across our borough.
To help us with our research, we’ve approached Stanfords (the map specialists in Covent Garden) and they’ve kindly donated maps for all our institutions, which will help us have a clearer idea of where to concentrate our efforts.
On the front page of the Hackney Gazette today, you can read: “New Year: old Violence”. this headline refers to the crimes (two shootings and two stabbings) which have taken place over the past couple of weeks. It’s clear that what we’ve started is something which aims to address this cynical view of Hackney. for us it is “new Year: new Hopes”.
For more details about Hackney Citizens, and to get involved, contact Sebastien Chapleau (Community Organiser for Hackney) at sebastien.chapleau@londoncitizens.org.uk
For more details about Stanfords, visit their website at: www.stanfords.co.uk
