And Still Making a Difference
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Support Against Racist Incidents years And still making a difference Annual Report 2011-2012 Contentswith Current Trustees Esther Vikash ʻAs S.A.R.I. has Chairʼs Report: 3 got bigger it has got a good reputation of Directorʼs Report: 4 ʻWhen S.A.R.I. came making a difference.ʼ along my problems were Assistant Directorʼs Report: 5 over.ʼ Trustees: 6 Training: 7 Housing Association partners: 8 Richard Buba Education: 10 Ashfield YOI: 11 Discrimination: 12 21st Anniversary: 14 Vinodkumar Panna Bristol City Council: 17 South Gloucestershire Council: 18 ʻS.A.R.I. makes peoplesʼ lives North Somerset/ B&NES: 19 better.....and helps them realise that life Bristol Youth Offending Team: 20 is not that bad.ʼ Arlene Childʼs Play: 21 Consultancy: 22 ʻBefore S.A.R.I. came along people didnʼt know Avon & Somerset Constabulary: 23 what to do when racism was reported.ʼ Statistics: 24 Maya Area of Incident: 25 Finance Report: 26 Funders: 27 Irvin Kathryn Matthew Charity Number: 1047699 Company Number: 3060925 Chair’s Report Welcome to our Annual Report.This year S.A.R.I. reached a 21 year milestone. We had planned to celebrate this success but with the austerity measures that are affecting us all we decided to cancel this event. The cuts have deeply affected S.A.R.I. and our team are working creatively to maintain standards and meet targets. Examples are: • Beginning the task of changing S.A.R.I.’s charitable objectives to allow us to help all victims of Hate Crime. • Preparing for the submission of our application to be considered for the commissioning of the Hate Crime Services in Bristol. • Increasing the capacity and expertise in our team that allows us to further tailor our services to meet the objectives of our partners. Our services become increasingly vital as we look at the changing demographics in Bristol and the South West. Despite funding cuts we continue to deliver casework support to all of our clients. We still maintain the professional and personal touch that is our trademark. National agendas have also shown why it is so important that organisations like S.A.R.I. exist. We welcomed the Stephen Lawrence trial sentencing and the way that racism in football has been challenged. Yet at the same time we know that in the face of austerity cuts and recession many people look around for someone to blame. Often media coverage that lacks social responsibility is apt to highlight cases of individual greed or deception from immigrants that fuel the flames to make the BME community an easy target to blame, and this can often spill out into other racist incidents. It is refreshing therefore to look forward to the Olympics and Paralympics, where we can anticipate the emergence of positive role models across all the ‘protected characteristics’. The challenges S.A.R.I. face should be considered against a national and local background and have involved a number of personal decisions to ensure our continued existence and success. Change presents challenges but I would like to thank the Management Committee, the Management Team and staff for the way they have worked together to manage that change. It is likely that this will be the last Support Against Racist Incidents Annual Report as changing our objectives will result in us working with victims of all types of Hate Crime. We will update our name to Stand Against Racism and Inequality though we will keep the S.A.R.I. logo that is so well known. I would also like to thank our Director, Batook Pandya who has been a driving force in moving forward and responding proactively to challenge. He has shown great vision and insight. I also thank our funders as without support we could not continue. We know times are hard and we appreciate that we are all responding to challenging times. We thank you for continuing to put your trust in us and hope this Annual Report gives you a sense of the difference that you make. And lastly, but not least, I would like to thank you and the communities and organisations that we work with. It is those partnerships that enable us to be effective for all those who walk through our doors. Esther Esther Deans, MBE. ...now for the next 21 years 3 Director’s Report The reason I have been here for the last 21 years, from the earliest hopes that we might make a difference in 1989 through to an established charity in 2012, is because I believe that we can contribute to the creation of a better society that reflects the diverse communities where we live. However, it is clear to me that none of this would have been possible without the support of our funders and close partners. I believe that we have forged strong relationships within agencies from top to bottom. We have always valued support from the most Senior Managers within organisations yet have never forgotten how important it is to work alongside frontline officers or with communities at the grass roots level. This ability to transcend and break down barriers has been at the core of our collaborative working, and we look forward to continuing close working partnerships with Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Local Authorities, the Crime Prosecution Service and other partner agencies. I want to thank my Trustees for their time, effort and support over the years and also the dedicated team of staff and volunteers who work with great passion in often difficult and challenging situations, standing up against inequality in communities. I would also like to thank Liam Bailey, a 17 year old student from Gordano School, Portishead, who designed this Annual Report for us this year. I remain fiercely committed to the belief that every person should have the right to live with respect and dignity and am extremely proud that we have reached our 21st anniversary looking forward to a time when Stand Against Racism and Inequality will be there for everyone and will advocate for all victims of Hate Crime. As I look forward to the next 21 years I hope that I can count on your continued support for our work in grass roots communities promoting a zero tolerance against all Hate Crime. Batook Batook Pandya, MBE DL MA (Hon). 1991: Batook with the late Basil Greaves, the caretaker at the Coach House office. 1991: The first office at The Coach House. 4 Memory Lane Assistant Director’s Report I cannot believe how fast the last 21 years has flown by. When I responded to a small advert in the Guardian newspaper for S.A.R.I.'s first Casework position in 1991, I could not have predicted where my first and only post graduate job would lead. Certainly in my first few months, I had my eyes opened. It was hard to appreciate how prevalent and serious the attacks were that S.A.R.I. clients were facing. During the past 21 years, it has always been clear that eradicating racism and inter-community conflict requires strong relationships between voluntary agencies such as S.A.R.I. and the agencies that have overall responsibility for those communities. Keeping neighbourhoods safe, cohesive and enhancing their potential to succeed takes time, consistency and continuous attention. The critical learning points to share from the past two decades are the positive impact of the victim orientated approach and the top down and bottom up approach that we adopt to making a difference. In the past year we have contributed to the following strategic work: the Bristol, B&NES and South Gloucestershire Partnerships Against Hate Crime (PAHCs); local Case Review Panels; the Tension Monitoring Group (TMG); Safer Bristol Executive; Bristol Supported Housing Forum (BSHF); Independent Advisory Groups; the CPS Hate Crime Scrutiny Group; the Delivering Race Equality Management Group to name but a few. Our success for 2012 – 2013 and beyond relies on us securing some of the most challenging new commissions we have ever seen for Hate Crime and Discrimination Services as more authority areas ask for services that can respond to all cases of Hate Crime across all ‘protected characteristics.’ We have an extremely skilled workforce with a passion for making a difference and the empathy to support all victims of Hate Crime. We are therefore really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us. Alex Alex Raikes, MBE. 1991: The first corporate sponsor, Marks & Spencer. 1991: William Waldegrave, Secretary of State for Health visits the Coach House office. 1991 Sohail Elahi. First Chair 1991 to 1997. Memory Lane 5 Trustees Trustees: 2011-2012 Ms Esther Deans, MBE Chair Mr Matthew Cuffy Vice Chair Mr Irvin Campbell Treasurer Mr Vinodkumar Patel Asst Treasurer Trustees 1998 Mrs Maya Bahra Ms Arlene Pilgrim Ms Kathryn Jefferson Mr Buba Touray Mrs Panna Patel Mr Vikash Patel Mr Richard Allen Trustees 2005 Trustees 2011 1993 Andi Powell, Alex Raikes and Winnie Sagoo, the first placement worker from Bristol Safer Cities project. 1996 Business in the Community, ‘Building Better Bristol’ award. Memory Lane 6 Training S.A.R.I. has continued to develop a wide range of training packages to suit individual needs and specific requests. This has never been about one size fits all, but by building in additional capacity to our training services we are truly able to tailor each intervention. S.A.R.I. has expanded the team of specialist trainers with the recruitment of a Housing Consultant who can work closely with partners to tailor the training exactly to a client’s needs. This capacity to project manage ensures that we can deliver the necessary outcomes that help partners meet their business objectives around Equality and Diversity.