Dorset Race Equality Council

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DORSET REC ARCHIVE

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

NEW WEBSITE

We are trialling a new look to Dorset REC's website at www.dorsetrec.co.uk. The site is based on a "blog" format and all new events and campaigns will appear there rather on this site. Please, visit the new site to have a look and let the Webmaster know what you think.

SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT

You are welcome to join a commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day at 10.30 am on Tuesday 24 January 2012 at High Cross Church, Amethyst Road, Somerford, Christchurch BH23 3EB; 12 noon on Friday, 27 January 2012 at The Corn Exchange, High West Street, Dorchester or 2.00 pm, Sunday 29 January 2012 at the Multifaith Caplaincy, Bournemouth University, Talbot House, Fern Barrow, Poole BH12 5BB. Click on the locations above for more details and for general information about Holocaust Memorial Day visit speakupnow.org.uk.

LIVING IN THE UK

Free support for local families. Come and find out all the essential information about childcare, jobs, training opportunities, schools and much more.

Meet with other local families with young children and share your culture and heritage with others.

12.30 pm - 2.00 pm every Wednesday at Branksome Children's Centre, 350 Poole Road, Branksome, Poole BH12 1AW

Telephone: 01202 261540

No booking needed.

STAY WARM THIS WINTER

To help you keep warm, well and safe during the winter months the NHS has got together with colleagues from the councils, emergency services and local doctors to put together a newsletter with information and tips. It is important that you act now on some of the tips such as getting your home ready for the cold and getting the flu jab. Do can download the leaflet by clicking here.

VICTIMS’ SERVICES ADVOCACY PROJECT

Victim Support wants to know more about the issues affecting local victims and witnesses of crime. So early this year, they appointed a national network of victims’ services advocates in partnership with the Commission for Victims and Witnesses.

The team are talking to victims and witnesses about their experience of crime and finding out what services are available across England and Wales.

Their findings will produce a series of local reports which they will use to raise awareness of important issues affecting victims and witnesses. Their work will also be used to make sure that the new Police and Crime Commissioners for each police force have victim and witness issues on their agenda.

They want to hear your voice

As part of this project, they want to hear about your experiences locally including:

- how you were treated as a victim or witness by the police and the criminal justice system
- if you found suitable support services to help you through this difficult time in your life
- whether or not your reported the crime, and if not, why?

They want to hear from people who have been a victim or witness in the last two years, especially for: antisocial behaviour; sexual assault; domestic abuse and hate crime.

It’s also important that there are no criminal justice proceedings or a court case still ongoing.

What to do

Focus groups and interviews will be taking place in your area over the next three months. If you want to take part please contact your local victims’ services advocate – Robin Newman, Victims’ Services Advocate (Wiltshire & Dorset) on 01380 738 872 or by email at robin.newman@victimsupport.org.uk

CONTACTING THE POLICE

Dorset Police have published three leaflets to promote access to emergency services for people without good spoken English, hard-of-hearing or with learning disabilities. Please pass this information on to anyone who would find it useful.

SOUTH WEST PUBLIC HEALTH OBSERVATORY has published a new report on "Health and Wellbeing of Travellers and Gypsies in the South West, October 2011. The report can be downloaded from here.

FREE ESOL lessons are available from Adult Learning Services - click on FREE ESOL COURSES image to view details. A new programme of Information Technology courses with ESOL support has been launched starting in November 2011. In addition, they are offering a free photography course with ESOL support, click Free Photography Course for further details .

International Training Network also offer free English lessons at Boscombe Baptist Church. Call 01202 4575956 for dates and further details.

Dorset REC is undergoing a membership drive and invites you to join us! Do you want to be part of campaigning for a safer and fairer Dorset? Then become a member and make use of the unique benefits and full range of our services.

Click here for introductory letter from Chief Officer, Adnan Chaudry. Membership is free but we rely on your donations to continue our valuable work.

Click here for online membership form or here for print version.

So just when we thought that racial violence had been consigned to the dustbin of history we read this:

"We focused on the city of Plymouth, which, according to the local Racial Equality Council, experiences 50 racist incidents every single day, a city which at one point was earmarked as a BNP stronghold, and which was once described as the ‘city of hate’ because of the sheer volume and ferocity of attacks on asylum seekers." Continue .../

HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

"The History of Bangladesh", A Dorset Bengali Association publication. This is a PowerPoint presentation. If you do not have a PowerPoint Viewer click here to download a free copy.

MIGRATION TO BOURNEMOUTH, DORSET AND POOLE

"Over 60% of accession state migrants have come from Poland, but some districts have received proportional high levels of migration from other states. As can be seen in the chart below, Christchurch has received proportional high migration from Estonia, Slovakia and Romania, Purbeck from Hungary and North Dorset from Bulgaria and Slovakia." Briefing update June 2011. Click here for your copy. Information you can trust.

RACIST GRAFFITI INCITING MURDER OF MUSLIMS FOUND IN POOLE

This offending Graffiti has now been removed after the Advocacy Service reported the material to Poole Council.

Kate Langdown Principal Officer Waste Operations at Borough of Poole Council said "We apologise the any distress or concern that this particular incident and resulting unfortunate delay has caused individuals. We would like to reassure people that we treat reports of incidents of graffiti very seriously and aim to remove racist or offensive graffiti from Council land/property within 20 hours of notification. All other reported incidences of non offensive graffiti will be removed within 12 days. Our performance in 2010/2011 further illustrates this commitment, in that our average response time for removing offensive graffiti was 3 hours with non offensive graffiti removed on average within approximately 5 hours from the time it is formally reported and logged through our Customer Services Unit to the time the incident was removed".

How To Report Incidences
Report It Online (24hr service) by clicking here. Alternatively telephone: 01202 261700 (Office Hours) or 0800 506050 (out of hours for offensive graffiti only).

What is ethnic minority patients experience of cancer services? Have your say by going here.

"THIS IS OUR HOME TOO"

Some forty years after the first piece of race legislation we are still talking of tackling racism. It is even more significant in these recessionary times that we become more aware of the issues facing many of our few BME communities in and around idyllic Dorset.

Click on the image to download what has been described as probably the most insightful report into race and community relations in Dorset so far this century.

WHO WOULD NOT WANT TO SIGN UP FOR THE FOLLOWING?

Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their diverse characteristics.
Meeting the needs of people from diverse groups.
Encouraging people from diverse groups to participate and be involved in decisions around our hospital services.

Click here to voice your opinion. It will only take a few minutes of your time, but you could make all the difference.

Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Women’s Health Information Day Report. Click here to download.

The Dorset Databook is the key statistical publication for Dorset County Council. Click here.

Equality and Human Rights Comission Equality Act Starter Kit. Click here.

Is your group looking for somewhere in Bournemouth to meet? Click here for a useful resource listing places to hire.

Let's Kick Racism Out of Football - Poole 2010. Click here for report.

"How Fair is Britain?" Triennial Review by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. To read the Review with supporting evidence click here.

Despite ethnic minorities having a strong work ethnic and high career aspirations, more so than white Britons, many rule out careers in the professions because of perceptions of racism. Click here to download full report. More News here.

Dorset Police responds to stop and search report. Click here.

Social Housing Allocation and Immigrant Communities Report. Get it by clicking here.