News 
News Stories
Local post office in community hands
August 2010
Darnall Post Office is now community-run and rescued from closure thanks to Darnall Forum. It was one of 65 in Yorkshire and Derbyshire selected for closure by Post Office Ltd in 2008.
Download a Sheffield Live! podcast of reporter Nick Mosley chatting with Rob Russell, manager of Darnall Post Office about this unique initiative and what it means for the local community.
Sheffield Live! radio station website
Transport Strategy out for consulation ...
August 2010
In case you haven't seen it the Sheffield City Region Transport Strategy is now out for consultation - incorporating South Yorkshire's 3rd Local Transport Plan (LTP3). This will cover the period from 2011 to 2026. The consultation will end on 15 October 2010. Any comments?
www.southyorks.gov.uk/index.asp?id=3082
What new drama is this?
August/Sept 2010
Side by Side Intercultural Drama Group is about to embark on a new season of workshops and is looking for new participants to join a friendly and diverse team. This award-winning user-led Sheffield community drama group aims to promote intercultural understanding, integration and cohesion between people of all social, ethnic, cultural and faith backgrounds. It uses drama as a tool for developing confidence and self-expression and building friendships, exploring themes that are important and relevant to members. No previous theatre experience or English language skills necessary. Refugees and asylum seekers are particularly welcome to join.
If you, or your group, are interested in being involved in any way, either through performing or volunteering, or simply want to find out if it's for you, please come along to a Taster Session on Tuesday 14th September 2010, 10.30am till 1pm at Sharrow Old Junior School, South View Road, Sheffield S7 1DB. Lunch and travel expenses are provided.
Please email admin@sidebyside.me.uk or call 079438 12382 to register your name(s) or find out more.
Sheffield is getting warmer
August 2010
Sheffield City Council's Free Insulation Scheme, launched 2009 for homeowners and private tenants, has been moving across Sheffield ward by ward. The scheme has now moved to Gleadless Valley ward (which includes Heeley, Meersbrook, Herdings, Hemsworth and parts of Gleadless Town End, Lowfield and Beauchief).
Everyone in the ward has been sent a postcard, followed by a letter letting them know Energy Advisors will be visiting people in their street to sign them up for the scheme. At the same time 'fast track' priority customers city wide (aged 70 or over, or on qualifying benefits) don't have to wait until the scheme moves to their area.
Full details can be found on website www.sheffield.gov.uk/freeinsulation or by calling 0800 915 9096.
Sheffield equality petition
Deadline early October 2010
Sheffield is one of the most divided cities. Between the wealthiest south-west areas and the north and east there are shocking differences in everything from life expectancy to pollution levels. At the Wednesday 6th October Council meeting a petition will be presented to Sheffield Council asking them to do something about this - starting with the top people's salaries. Will the turkeys vote for Christmas? Let's see ... The petition is online at www.petitiononline.com/seg1scc/petition.htmlSheffield Equality Group website
New women's community allotment in Firth Park
August 2010
The Trade Base Allotment Project on Windmill Lane (Firth Park) has recently opened a new women's group on Monday afternoons from 1.30-4.30pm, thanks to funding from the National Lottery through the Big Lottery fund. The group offers all women a chance to grow veg to take home, learn about organic growing, get some fresh air and exercise, meet new people, learn new cooking skills and improve their confidence and mood in a safe, women-only environment. The group is open to all women and children are also welcome to come along. It is situated on Windmill Lane, the nearest bus route from town is the 75/76, alighting at Page Hall Road, and the group can help with bus fares if necessary.
For further information, please call Kim or Rachel on Sheff 2447496 or 07726 944692 or contact email rachel_tradebase@yahoo.co.uk
On yer bike! On the bus?
August 2010
A bus service into the Peak District has space for walkers, bikes and climbing equipment, and has an improved timetable for 2010. The Stanage bus runs on summer Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays until 24th October. As the leaflet says, rows of cars detract from the wild landscape and also belch out harmful fumes - and this bus costs only £2 return. Why not?
Peak District website for details
Art meets digital inclusion
Sept 2010
A major event, Inspiring Digital Engagement Festival, will be held in Sheffield in September. It explores the role of socially engaged art projects - the unsung success stories of digital engagement. Local art practitioners, digital inclusion researchers, public sector professionals and community development workers are invited to join an active investigation promoting, enriching and challenging notions of digital inclusion. Full details at website for the event.
Activism and Social Change - now recruiting
Course starts Oct 2010
A radical multi-disciplinary course, MA in Activism and Social Change at the University of Leeds brings together the worlds of academia and social struggle. It is run by academics working and researching with a variety of campaigns, social movement organisations and communities struggling against social and ecological injustice, and for a more equal, just society.
The approach engages students in a questioning of the fairness and sustainability of the current capitalist world order and explores empowering ideas and examples of how to challenge the status quo. The course is aimed at exploring possible alternatives based on autonomy and common(s). It offers an introduction to ideas in radical and transformatory social theories and strategies, global social movement struggles with particular reference to anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism, grounding in participatory action research methods relevant to campaigning and social change, contemporary political debates about critical challenges and how to respond.
There are guest lectures and workshops by journalists, campaigners, researchers and activists and opportunities to engage in action research projects with a variety of social struggles. This year Prof John Holloway, internationally renowned author on autonomist Marxist theory and social movements will be a visiting professor in the course.
For more information, see: www.activismsocialchange.org.uk
Contact email: geo-tpg-enq@leeds.ac.uk or ring 0113 3436639
LGBT Police
July 2010 (deadline 10 Sept)
South Yorkshire Police are making an effort to get more in contact with people from varied backgrounds and cultures. There is an invitation to join their LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/or Transgender) Independent Advisory Group. If you are interested, call 01226 772807 or see website www.southyorks.gov.uk
Sheffield Racial Equality Council (SREC) moves and bids.
July 2010
SREC has recently moved from the Wicker to larger premises at the old BNDFC office, Speedicut Works, Harleston Street S4 7QB, just off Carlisle Street. It has also had to bid to continue its work, with Sheffield City Council offering only a third of the funds previously allocated. The organisation has an impressive 40 year track record for providing an excellent specialist anti-racial discrimination casework service.
Website: www.sheffieldrec.co.uk
Car pollution kills - in Sheffield
June 2010
Air quality in the east of Sheffield around the M1 motorway is at shockingly poor levels, a new report confirms. The East End Quality of Life Initiative (EEQOL) an innovative, community led project is campaigning about this issue. Follow links from their website to see the report.
EEQOL website
REDD and destroy
2011 Urgent and ongoing danger
If you haven't heard of REDD that's not surprising, but perhaps you need to. It's an approach to climate change promoted by polluting corporations, northern governments and economists - and it's likely to destroy more than ever.
This is a request for urgent solidarity by signing a statement rejecting schemes for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). The REDD Statement draws attention to the dangers including land grabs and the inclusion of REDD in the carbon market.
Please click on the link and read the document, sign and publicise it further. (It starts off a bit technical but it does explain things). Seizing and destroying the communities in the rainforests cannot be the solution. Thanks for reading.
www.durbanclimatejustice.org
Hunt saboteurs request
August 2010
With huntsman Cameron lording it up in number 10, sabs across the country are bracing themselves for a repeal of the fox hunt ban. The West Yorkshire Hunts Sabs are readying themselves to step up the fight against hunting and are fund-raising for a new (or old) Land Rover. This would double the number of sabs able to patrol each week. They can also use Ordnance Survey maps, essential oils (like Citronella and Eucalyptus), 2-way radios/mobile phones, cameras/camcorders and more. Or get out there and do some fieldwork yerself!
To make a donation or check out progress on the'Landy'o'meter' see www.westyorkshirehuntsabs.wordpress.com
Hebron calling Sheffield
August 2010
A Sheffield activist living in Palestine, Deacon Dave, is posting videos onto YouTube under the name "Hebron Voices". Latest offerings include Zleika, who describes her life living in one of the most absurd situations of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. She can't step out of her own front door or walk down her own street. She shows her Peace Wall, made from stones thrown by Jewish settlers at her house.
"Hebron Voices" on YouTube
Freegle needs moderation
August 2010
Sheffield Freegle is growing well and getting busier by the day and looking for new moderators. What's Freegle? It's a re-use network, an alternative to Freecycle. It enables people to keep household goods out of landfill by giving away things they don't want, to people who can use them. Joining involves having a Yahoo account, which is free and easy. Each Freegle group is a grassroots co-operative run by and for local people.
If you are passionate about and believe in the ethics of Freegle, have regular access to a PC, some time to spare in the daytime and you are interested in being a moderator, then please get in touch: Email Sheffield Freegle Group Owner
Sheffield-Freegle website
Pakistan floods: Sheffield Live! report
August 2010
Flash floods and landslides have left 20 million homeless or displaced and 3.5 million children stand the risk of contracting waterborne diseases. Among those affected are some 1.5 million Afghan refugees who have taken shelter in Pakistan over the past three decades and more than 700,000 people displaced by the 'War on Terror' in the Swat Valley and other areas last year.
Pakistan is an agricultural country, the flooding swept away 558,000 hectares of crop land. At least 10,000 cows have drowned. With the heavy loss of fields, the country will face an acute food shortage not only this year but also the next. Pakistan is Asia's third-largest wheat producer, and 500,000 tonnes of wheat stock has been washed away, up to two million bales of cotton destroyed and around 300,000 tonnes of rice have also been lost.
The report features interviews with Salman Siddiqui, senior reporter at Express Tribune, Pakistan and Saad Khalique, vice-president of Faith Foundation, a Karachi-based charity helping flood victims in the Sindh province.
Sheffield City Council has set up donation points at the Town Hall and Howden House. You can also make a donation to DEC by calling 0370 60 60 900 or visiting the website. If you would like to donate to Faith Foundation, you can get in touch with them on 00-92-21-99250265 and 00-92-300-8246829. You can find them on Facebook for more details of the work they have done so far.
The report by Amna Kaleem was aired on Communities Live on August 13, 2010. It is available as a podcast here and on the Sheffield Live! website
Sheffield podcasting to the world
July 2010
The second 'Sheffield Indy Radio Show' is now available as a podcast to download. It covers deportations, Divide and Rule, discussion about the recent EDL confrontation at a Sheffield Indymedia meeting, the campaigns to oppose the deportations of two women from Sheffield, Odette Sefuko and Lem Lem Hussein Abdu, a listing of upcoming events from Alt-Sheff, and news about the BP gulf oil spill via Democracy Now.
The download is at Sheffield Indymedia website
Cycling freedom
Aug 2010
There are many young people in Sheffield who would love to cycle, but have no money to buy food, let alone a bike. These are destitute asylum seekers - many of them young men stuck here with no money, without permission to work, frightened of being deported back home to the dangerous situation from which they have fled, and denied support or housing from the Government. They get by with help from friends or from ASSIST, an organisation presently helping 80 of these would-be refugees with £15 per week. Many of the 2000 or more in this situation live on the street at least part of the time. Even those who have managed to get Section 4 support (for those willing to risk future deportation when the authorities decide it is safe to return them) only get electronic supermarket cards, not money for transport, etc. For them the possession of a bike brings freedom to roam at least, a tremendous difference to their sense of well-being. They have just a little more control over their lives.
So here comes the crunch - ASSIST has many volunteers keeping the project going with a fundraising team; a team organising accommodation mainly with volunteer hosts; a team trying to help people with their cases when legal help is very difficult to access ... and now it has a bike team. Have you a repairable bike to donate? Or have you the time to help the bike team get, repair or maintain bikes, or train destitute people to ride and maintain them?
Would you like to make life more bearable for these people and be able to give them the means to get about?
If you can help in this way the group would be very glad to hear from you. Tel Sheff 2585715 (home) or 2754960 (office) or email rmspooner@btopenworld.com
Rural issues bothering you?
August 2010
A survey to find out the most important rural issues in Yorkshire and the Humber is at surveymonkey.com/s/96LYSVG. It is apparently run by Regional Rural Network to raise awareness and influence local and central government and key agencies. Who knows if these things make any changes - there is no background information on the survey page.
New computer courses for refugees and asylum seekers
July 2010
The New Beginnings Refugee Project at the Volunteer Centre Sheffield are now running computer and internet courses for refugees and asylum seekers on Fridays 10am - 3pm at The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield S1 4FW (behind Costa Coffee on Division St.) The free course is for absolute beginners through to confident IT users - lots of courses to choose from, dip in and out according to interests and experience. Refugee tutors will be helping out. Open to asylum seekers and refugees, but entry 3 level English is needed to understand the spoken instructions.
For more information contact: James Kazadi on Sheff 2536655 email j.kazadi@vas.org.uk or drop in on a Friday.
Musicians - Rotherham calling!
News July, for event in Sept 2010
Local musicians are called for by Rotherham's One Town One Community Diversity Festival, 11th and 12th Sept at Clifton Park. Anyone with musical talent is invited to get in touch quickly, to ask if they can be included in the line-up. Phone 07984 936436 or email info@df.org.uk
Website: www.diversityfestival.org.uk (Note at the time of writing this website is being updated, it may still refer to 2009)
GIST Lab moves into the Workstation
July 2010
The GIST Foundation is a charitable organisation founded by Jag Gill. It supports grassroots technology innovation, sharing ideas and know-how with the public, academic and third sectors, working on radical projects of social and economic value. Moving into the Showroom Workstation is a great move for GIST which produces GIST Magazine, formerly known as GeekUp. It is keen to stress that the organisation is not just for techie geeks. Monthly Social Media Surgeries are held for local, voluntary and community sector groups, and it welcomes newcomers.
For more information: http://thegisthub.net
CADOS - Campaign against the Deportation of Odette Sefuko
Campaign launched 14 July 2010
Campaign to support Sheffield resident Odette Sefuko, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in fear of her life but the Home Office refuses to accept is Congolese! They want to send her back to Uganda, where she might face prison, torture or death. Please help Odette in her campaign to stay. Full info at CADOS Facebook page
Short course: Adjust to life in the UK
2010
Your Life – Your Choice (YL–YC) is a free, short programme for refugees and asylum seekers to help adjust to life in the UK. It's run by People United Against Crime (PUAC) with various community groups, to promote community cohesion and inform refugees of services available. The course is one morning a week (10am - 12) for six weeks. It can be tailored to meet individual or group needs, and organisations and public sector bodies are invited to come and talk about their services.
For more info contact Emma Kenny-Levick tel Sheff 2758735.
Launchpad launched!
May 2010
Launchpad is a new cafe project running in Burngreave Road. An outreach project aiming to provide a friendly place for people less integrated into society, including refugees and asylum seekers. Some learning disabled adults help to prepare and serve the food.
The food is always freshly cooked using healthy ingredients, many locally sourced. Prices are kept as low as possible. For example, a two-course cooked lunch costs £3, sandwiches from £1.20, tea and coffee 50p. Omelettes, jacket potatoes and hot/cold sandwiches are available all the time. The cooked meal of the day is available from 12 till 1.30. Customers are welcome to stay for as long as they like, even if they only buy a cup of tea!
Situated within the Vestry Hall on Burngreave Road, Sheffield and open from 9 till 3. Please tell people about it, especially the ones who would most benefit, such as newcomers to our country, the elderly, recovering mental health patients, single parents and the disabled (there is a wheelchair friendly lift). And do pop in yourself!
