BCAN (Bristol Christian Action Network) Helping Christians Respond To Social Needs Bristol Homeless Forum BHF News - 14 May 2015

Projects

Bristol Nightstop

April stats:

Bristol Soup Run Trust

URGENT APPEAL: Pip 'n' Jay are withdrawing from their shifts, leaving us with a gap every Friday evening from the end of May. We still have some volunteers to deliver the food but need someone to coordinate the shift and we need premises to prepare the food.

If anyone can offer to help on one or more Fridays per month or you would like more information please contact Steve Jones on 07976 321995.

Caring in Bristol

There is nothing specific to report for CiB this month; we use this comparatively quiet time of year to review and improve our existing projects, develop and resource new ones, and raise essential funds.

Christ Church Breakfast Run

No significant changes to report. The numbers are fluctuating a bit – between 35 and 50, with lots of new faces.

Strangers' Friend Society

Funds remain available for distribution – up to £75 worth of goods per person to provide the essentials of daily living. Larger gifts are occasionally made available to organisations offering services to disadvantaged people. Contact Lindsey Jones on 07950 800526.

Other

Legal Highs - a request

A message from Hywel Caddy:

Following on from the last HAM I contacted trading standards who have asked if organisations can gather information on legal highs from people using your services. I attach an email from Sharon Sawyers who is coordinating action against the sale of legal highs in the city for Trading Standards.

Please can you contact Sharon directly if you are able to assist with her request for info:

Hi Hywell

Thanks for our chat earlier. As I explained we're trying to build up a clear picture regarding the use of legal highs in Bristol and the impact this is having on users and the wider community. It would assist us greatly if we could gather intelligence about the following issues:

• The shops which are selling the products
• How they are obtained – does anyone buy them via delivery services?
• Types of products
• The products themselves – names etc.
• The locations in which they are used
• Descriptions of the effects
• Price
• Descriptions of sellers which could help identify them
• What is said during transactions – eg dosage, effect etc.
• Occasions on which medical advice has been sought following their use

I'm happy for you to pass on my details to anyone who wants to talk to me about this.

Best regards

Sharon

Sharon Sawyers
Senior Trading Standards Officer
Bristol City Council
Brunel House
St Georges Road
Bristol
BS1 5UY
0117 922 3348
07795 315 274
(Sharon has a standard Bristol Council email address)

Bear Pit Redevelopment

A message from Alan Morris of the Bearpit Improvement Group.

Dear all,

This is a final message from me about food handouts and the Bearpit. The food handouts seem to have been working well in St James Park since March 21st, so I am formally closing our group..

Jonnie, you will no doubt be in contact about the proposal of a weekend premises ?

The Bearpit has been and continues at times to be a place for rough sleepers and alcohol/drug users. Bearpit Improvement Group (BIG) recognises the need to continue to work with this situation and to achieve a fair balance between the different users of the Bearpit.

For your information, BIG continues to pursue funding for a 'Community Hub' in the Bearpit - a modular building to house workshops available for a wide range of groups, including recovering alcoholics, aiming to work with organisations such as St Mungos Broadway, Second Step and Bristol Drugs Project.

I have valued the series of meetings we had and the personal connections made. Thank you for your support. Do get in touch again if any of your work with rough sleepers and alcohol/drug users seems relevant to the Bearpit.

With best wishes

Alan

Homeless Forum

The leaders of Churches Together in Greater Bristol have agreed to support a new Bristol Christians in Politics and Social Action group (a provisional name). It is probable that there will be (at least) two sub-groups: one concentrating on Politics, and one concentrating on Social Action. The Homeless Forum would be attached to the Social Action group, as would continue to function (with a suitably revised name) as at present – unless anyone can suggest some improvements.

The details are still being worked on, and an email list is being established. Please let Paul know if you have any ideas or would like to contribute to developing any of this in some way.

NEON Bristol

'NEON' is the New Economy Organisers Network. One is being set up in Bristol. They have recently undertaken a survey of activists and projects in Bristol, and are now advertising their launch event:

Many of you spoke of the need to break out of our silos and address inequality and injustice together. Others called for more collaboration when it comes to our collective skills and strategies. Whilst there was recognition of where we are getting things right, there was frustration that on a range of issues, we aren't making progress.

That's why we would like to invite you to the launch of the New Economy Organisers Network in Bristol:

NEON is a nationwide community of activists and campaigners from faith groups, NGOs, trade unions and grassroots tackling the root causes of the problems we are all tackling in our fight for a fairer, equal and just society.

New Economy Organisers Network Bristol Launch
6.30pm, Thursday 4 June 2015
Trinity Centre, Trinity Road, BS2 0NW
RSVP here: https://eventbrite.com/event/16719129366/

For more information, visit NEON:
http://www.neweconomyorganisersnetwork.org/groups/neon/request_membership