Annual Report 1996
Report by Simon Loveitt
My work as a Church Related
Community Worker has developed greatly since 1989, as it should do. The
work now, which is reflected below, keeps very close to the renewed Job
Description, which was updated when the post was extended in 1994.
1. PROPOSED
REDEVELOPMENT OF HULME UNITED REFORMED
CHURCH
AIMS:
1. To redevelop Hulme
United Reformed Church to enable the community to maximise its usage.
2. To obtain funding from
a number of sources - English Partnerships Capital Investment Funds, Hulme
City Challenge, Fletcher Trust to enable the redevelopment to take place.
2. OBJECTIVES
1. In responding to local
need, the redevelopment will include:
creating a self contained
youth centre for the first floor, with its own independent access, including
lift, developing the kitchen on the ground floor to enable it to be used for
catering and upgrading the toilets to include disabled access,
replace external windows, doors and roofing (including replacing boarded up
windows with glass), and increased security provision.
2. To continue
negotiations with various agencies to enable the youth centre to be well
used - St. George's Youth Club, Hulme
Sports Programme,
Manchester Youth Service, Children's Services.
3. To begin discussions to utilise the new ground floor facilities including upgraded kitchen for the
benefit of community.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
St. George's is an area
with a very high number of young families and teenagers, proportionally more
than the rest of Hulme. It comprises of mainly low-rise property, benefiting
from Estate Action money in 1989-1992 to improve the housing stock, and has
avoided the wholesale redevelopment seen in much of Hulme due to City
Challenge. It has had a stable community for many years, with three
generations of families living in the same street in some instances.
In St. George's there are
very few buildings which can be used for the community. There were plans in
1990 for a community centre to be situated in the Cornbrook Enterprise
Centre. Princess Junior School moved into the centre for three years making
those plans redundant. A community play building was promised for the park,
but this was first delayed because of lack of cash, then dropped. The Church
is then the only building on the estate, which can be used for the
community.
The idea is to develop a
self contained youth centre on the first floor of the building, with its own
entrance, toilets, and kitchenette, thereby allowing the rest of the
building to be used for other activities without possible disruptions from
the young people in the rooms upstairs. It will also allow the young people
to identify with this space as their own.
On the ground floor of
Tatton Street there are plans to develop an area for the elderly to meet,
and perhaps to have meals cooked for them. This will mean an enlargement and
upgrade of the kitchen facilities, as well as new equipment. The toilets
will have to be enlarged to cater for disabled access.
A Steering Group has been
formed of CTAC (Community Technical Aid Centre) providing architectural
advice and plans for free, the neighborhood youth worker, Hulme Sports
Programme, local representatives; Hulme Regeneration limited, together with
church representatives.
Hulme United Reformed
Church will be bidding for money from the Capital Investment Funds from
English Partnerships and City Challenge totaling £140,000.
2. GOOD NEIGHBOURS
SCHEME/FOOD CO-OP
As a result of poor
shopping facilities in Hulme, a Good Neighbours Scheme was launched to take
those who are disabled and elderly to a shopping centre by taxi. This has
been a great success, although this was always going to be a stopgap, as the
funding is short term, and it doesn't address the root cause of the problem.
A recent development has
seen a Food Co-op for Hulme begin in one area of Hulme, where food is
purchased directly from the wholesalers, buying top quality produce at a
very cheap cost to residents of Hulme. The cost price is passed on to the
customers plus 20p per order. At the end of January/beginning of February
this will be expanded to include St. George's. Some work still has to be
done to identify people who want to join and volunteers to help with the
distribution.
3. HOUSING ISSUES
Although the day by day
contact with the housing office has reduced since the completion of the
Estate Action Project (a major refurbishment scheme for the St. George's
area), a regular meeting is held with tenant reps. and housing officials to
ensure any problems are dealt with fairly.
4. HULME SPORTS
PROGRAMME
This is an organisation
delivering leisure activities to a wide range of people in the Hulme and
Alexander Park Estate area, including young people, women, unemployed,
elderly and those with mental health problems. I am the chair of this
organisation and have been working very closely with them for a number of
years.
5. Y-CLUB
A joint piece of work
between Hulme Sports Programme, H.A.R.P and myself is the weekly trip to the
YMCA in Castlefield. H.A.R.P. work with people with mental health problems,
assisting with their benefits and re-housing needs. Two areas of need, which
were identified but not being addressed, were social skills and their
general health levels. Many of the clients who come to the drop-in are
really shy, and through activities, which the Y-Club offers, friendships are
built up, and confidence restored. Fitness levels also improve, which helps
with their general well being.
6. YOUTH CLUB
Myself together with
Pierre West from Hulme Sports Programme work on the Junior and Senior Youth
Club on a Tuesday night. Recently a volunteer from St. George's has been
helping us with the running of the club.
We are a minibus based
Youth Club, due mainly because of available space dedicated to Young People.
The two age groups are 5-11 for the Junior Club and 11-1 6 for the Senior
Club. Activities include night walks, swimming, and ice skating together
with about three residential weekends per year.
7. UNEMPLOYED GROUP
This has undergone a
transition in the past year, and now attracts school leavers. We meet for a
few hours per week, with. an activity based session, with advice available
if and when needed.
8. CREDIT UNION
In Luke's gospel, there is
a parable told by Jesus about the shrewd steward. In it there is a statement
"You cannot serve both God and money".
Today's society is one
where if you have money, you have power and influence. Credit comes easily,
whether this is from Credit Cards, Banks or building Societies. Those with
little money have lives run for them. Credit from banks and building
societies is not an option, neither is opening a bank account if you are on
a low income, unemployed or credit listed for bad debt. So where do you
turn? To Loan Sharks, with up to 1000% interest, or you do without. Is this
justice?
Credit Unions are one
answer. They are community banks, run by local people for local people and
registered centrally. They are able to give out cheap loans at 12.68% APR
through an act of Parliament. The Moss Side & Hulme Credit Union is run by
the Churches of Hulme and Moss Side. It provides an organisation where
anyone, who lives, works or worships within Hulme & Moss Side can become a
member.
The Moss Side & Hulme
Credit Union is now quite a large organisation, with 500 members and well
over £1 20,000 assets. I have been the vice-chair of the Credit Union for
almost a year. The Credit Union had expanded at quite a considerable rate in
the past two years, and one person, who was increasingly struggling under
the increased workload, was carrying out the workload.
A decision was taken to
become actively involved in this organisation to ensure its efficient
running, bringing in more volunteers and to try to gain part time funding
for a development post. We have also had problems with our Auditor, and the
computer package he wrote, so I have tried to guide the Credit Union, with
others, to new Auditors and a new computer package for the Credit Union.
Surely this is a case of
serving both God and money, giving the 'have nots' more control over their
lives. It is certainly a sign of hope; perhaps a sign of the Kingdom?
9. FINNISH STUDENTS
Diaconal students from
Finland (and two this year Estonia) will be in Manchester from April 9th -
May 31 St. Two will be on placement in Hulme. Their placement this year
will include seeing the work I am involved with, spending some time at the
Zion Community Health Resource Centre, and probably some time at the Wesley
Cafe and Furniture Store. Due to the nature of this project and the
experience which has built up in the last four years, we are able to deliver
a good quality placement which each successive group of students learn a
great deal about Community Development Work.
10. MANCHESTER EVENING
NEWS
Following an article in
the Sunday Times, where Prospero Insurance listed the ten best and ten worst
areas in Britain for insurance’s purposes, St. George's Avenue, a street
opposite Hulme United Reformed Church was listed as one of the worst.
Manchester Evening News
picked up on this information, and produced an article the day after stating
YES, RESIDENTS AGREE THIS IS THE WORST STREET IN MANCHESTER, with a
photograph of a tenant with the Avenue behind plastered across the front
page of the newspaper.
As you can imagine, there
was uproar in the community, and in the days which followed the Church,
housing office & local tenants came together to produce a petition, and
numerous letters. Some of these letters were published in the days which
followed, but such was the weight of outcry from the community an apology
appeared in the newspaper, with a promise to publish the 'true' side of St.
George's. A full-page article with photos followed.
For a community to care so
much for their area, and to protest in such an effective way speaks volumes
for the way in which the community spirit has built up over the last few
years.
After six years of the
Church Related Community Work Project, there is now a much stronger
relationship between the church and community. It is clear that God is a
work in Hulme and we have much to thank God for.
11. COMMENTS FROM
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Management Committee
welcomed the renewal of the project and presents the report as the first
year of our five-year plan.
Finances: We are very
fortunate that Simon's expenses are met wholly from the Fletcher Trust and
the Florence Hill Bequest. We have always received the amount requested and
the Trusts are aware of inflation and their grants reflect this. During this
year the Fletcher Trust gave us £ 1100 for a new computer.
Five Year Plan:
Short term aims:
a) SUPPORT CREDIT UNION.
This is a great community story. Moss Side & Hulme Credit Union is fully
integrated: Simon’s skills and time as well as his personal commitment and
advocacy are a great lead and support in terms of training, computer skills
(which have been a great help and taken many hours in the setting up of the
new scheme) and general encouragement of the committee and workers.
b) ADVOCACY OF CRCW
SCHEME. This could be very time consuming as
most churches in our Province, like all our Provinces do not see CRCW's in
action first hand. However, Simon has spoken at Synod with Bethan and their
presentation was printed, spent a Saturday at a Enquirer’s conference which
took a lot of time for a small number, spoken at local churches in the local
Group and District, taken part in a presentation at Assembly, used the set
of slides he produced about Hulme as well as playing his full part in the
life of the Councils of the Church.
Medium Term:
a) Obtaining both
private and public funding for improvement and updating of the premises at
Hulme. This aspect is taking a lot of time
with City Council, various agencies and legal advisors.
b) Work amongst children
and young people in the community. Challenging
and demanding for workers. Recently a new volunteer has joined the work but
it is a difficult area in which to find new workers. It will be our greatest
challenge for an 'exit strategy' which allows work to continue at the same
level.
c) Lack of shops.
A big issue in the intermediate situation while the new houses is being
built. The shopping trip each week has a good team of volunteers supported
by Simon. Explorations continue to develop a Co-operative for certain
produce and food.
d) A lot of time has been
spent supervising students from Finland, Northern College and Salford Urban
Mission. The committee believes it is a good use of Simon's time and skills
and makes a strong input to training of Church Related Community Workers.
The committee also plans
to spend some time on a critical comment on Simon's work
-
A detailed look at the
way he spends his time on various aspects of his work.
-
This year's budget shows
that his work involves a lot more mileage and costs in the 1995 year. The
committee noted the calls on professional workers with cars in Urban
Priority Areas.
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