Doing something for SE London?

[louisiana]

I for one was taken by something that CoD said on a thread yesterday:

"We are scared of violent crime - we want to be safe and not caught up in gang warfare - we want Jacqui Smith do actually live in her main residence in Nunhead and pull her finger out. And we are sorry that a man was murdered. And we don't want anymore."

I've often wondered what exactly 'local' MPs do for this area (as opposed to doing things for the Olympics, or doing stuff to keep their party in power). I'm aware some things are done (e.g. TJ's work re ED hospital). But I don't see much real 'working for SE London' from that quarter, in the sense of some of the major issues that affect SE London.

I'm aware of projects like Camila Batmanghelidjh's in Camberwell. And I'm aware - child of immigrants, raised on commercial premises surrounded by old people - that young people's aspirations and course in life are majorly affected by who they are influenced by, who is around them, what people say to them. I'm personally very aware that lots of kids in SE London never travel beyond their own neighbourhoods in SE London. That is their very limited horizon. (And that needs tackling.) And also aware that the major banks etc. around Canary Wharf and the City who run mentoring schemes are generally drawing in on their outreach and mentoring programmes in the current recession.

So I'm wondering what we, as a community, and as individuals, can do to help. What schemes people know about. What gaps people think there are, that we could maybe help to do something about. Each person can do something that is only small, but all together it can add up.

I don't pretend that we can solve any of this. But I do believe that if enough people try to do enough things in the right direction, we can change some young lives for the better. And that can change the course of future events. It is the responsibility of a community to work with their community.

I write as someone who chaired an NGO from launch, so has some experience of doing things with volunteers etc., but I don't pretend to know how to go about any of this. I'm just casting about for ideas, that's all.

[PeckhamRose]

Deleted because my post was a pile of wank

[RosieH]

I think the project louisiana touched on, Kids Company, run by Camilla Batmanghelidjh does absolutely amazing work, and anyone wanting to so something for the community could do a lot worse than help them out, helping out disenfranchised kids.

You can help out by becoming a mentor to a kid who needs it, giving a regular donation, donations in kind (they help set kids up with decent homes so need stuff like bedding, clothes, toiletries etc), helping to refurbish one of those decent homes, raising money by climbing foreign mountains, or helping out with school and community projects.

A friend also recently recommended Springboard to me - they help promote literacy in children. Don't have personal experience of them, but she said the work they do is fantastic.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

My friend used to work for Springboard, and yes, the work they do is v. good, and the staff are extremely caring and passionate. It is frightening how illiteracy* is still rife.

Interestingly, an article I read on women's prisons recently (MoS I have to confess) suggested a link between illiteracy and custodial sentences.

* not sure that's a real word!

[RosieH]

Yeah PGC, I've heard that too - and it does make sense - although helpfully I can't cite any evidence to back it up.

But I think for that reason, helping kids at that stage, to go on and lead successful lives, can only do the community at large the power of good.

[macroban]

Our area is short of Lay Magistrates particularly for the Children's Bench.