September 2019 Nottingham Citizens Newsletter

Friday 20th September

Over the next few hours, hundreds of people will gather in market square, joining with millions across the globe for the 'Earth Strike'. With our national politics and democracy in turmoil, this is yet another sign that people are more prepared than ever to stand up for the issues that matter to them. The need to provide a vehicle for change is as relevant as it ever was. And so we push on! Lots of exciting activities, actions and updates to share.

Firstly, a big Nottingham Citizens welcome to the Nottingham Girls Academy who joined our alliance last month. We are looking forward to introducing you around our membership and making some change together.

Continue reading for updates from our campaign action teams

Mental Health update:

over the past few months, our MH team have been working in partnership with the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to co-produce an awareness-level session to tackle MH stigma in the city. Our goal is that no-one should be embarrassed to admit to having a MH challenge. We are delighted to be launching this new session as part of the Nottinghamshire Mental Health Awareness Week on Weds 16 Oct, 7-8.30pm @St Nics. If you are interested in making a change in your own organisation, this event is for you. More info and tickets here , or via tinyurl.com/citizensMH. If you attended our June assembly you will recall Jeff and Leslie sharing Ben's story. The Nottinghamshire MH Awareness Week will be launched by a special 'Time to Talk' event in Ben's memory on Mon 7 Oct, 7-9.30pm @The Contemporary. Tickets available here . The end of September is the deadline for surveys of young people across Nottinghamshire. We are seeking to understand the experiences of children and young people and put their ideas for change at the forefront of a new campaign in 2020. Could you use your networks to help gather a few more responses? Links: 4-11 SURVEY ; 11+ SURVEY

Last month, the Living Wage movement announced that since its inception in 2001, it has now shifted over £1bn into the pockets of the UK's lowest-paid workers. Nationally, we now have well over 5000 accredited LW employers, but we know there is still a long way to go in tackle in-work poverty in our country. Locally, our Work and Wages team have some exciting LW news with a significant private sector employer joining the LW movement this month. We'll share details of this exciting development soon!

Upcoming team meetings;

• Education & Young People - Tues 24 Sept, 6-7.30pm @Karimia Institute

• Mental Health - Weds 9 Oct, 6-7.30pm @St Barnabas Cathedral

• Work and Wages - Weds 23 Oct, 5.30-7.30 @UoN, Law & Social Sciences Building, Room B101

Members gathering : on the 7 Nov, 6-7.30pm, St Ann's Well Academy will be our hosts for our annual delegates assembly and AGM. We'll be hearing stories and updates from our x3 action teams, with each team bringing details of an exciting public action they'll be running before Christmas, asking members for their support. This is an internal meeting - for non-members interested in joining us, let us know if you'd like to attend.

Our local 2 day 'How to make change' Community Leadership Training is taking place on Fri 15 & Sat 16 Nov, 9.30-4.30pm. This is vital learning for anyone who wants to be effective in public life and develop skills to work with others for social change. More info and registration here , or at tinyurl.com/nottschange

The Sherwood Sponsors Refugees group, an alliance of organisations in the north of the city, are making great headway in raising funds to support a new refugee family and hope to put in an application to the Home Office by the end of the year. Help them with their final financial push by clicking the banner on the left. If you're interested in community sponsorship of refugees and would like to explore setting up your own group in Nottingham, let us know.

Finally, Nottingham Liberal Synagogue are looking to recruit a P/T community development worker. To find out more, contact chairman Peter Gordon - peter.gordon@nottinghamliberalsynagogue.com

Here's to a justice-filled autumn.

Pete
Community Organiser, Nottingham Citizens