Today is International Women’s Day, and we thought that this was the perfect time to catch up with Helen Chapman, the Hub’s own Female Empowerment Coach (and Friday lunch genius).  Helen works with female leaders to help them discover and live their highest calling.  She helps women take a deep dive into themselves by using tried and tested techniques/meditations.  Helen spoke with Ann Storr, resident Hub storyteller, about her work and journey (and the only food that can’t be microwaved is beetroot.  You heard it here first).

I started my career as a tv production creative.  I had the sense that I was occupying a very small attic inside a grand palace, so I quit and did that stereotypical thing, went to India.  It was a huge step to take but it set me on my path: After I came back someone told me how Jungian analysis had changed his life.  Two days later I’m sat in an analyst’s office.  The work I went through there healed and revealed to me a lot of issues and allowed me to see the world differently.

We are at an unprecedented place in history. The change in women’s role in society over the past 50 years is unique, moving from the role of mother and wife to fighting for equal pay. Translational psychologists call this a “discriminating dilemma’ – women are redefining themselves and exposing their masculine sides.

The wonderful Helen herself

It’s tricky though, raising new problems: can I be vulnerable at work without losing my power?  Can I have a purpose and be intimate with someone?  Women are catapulting up the tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and that’s so exciting.

We are all evolving against our biology, redefining what leadership is.  We don’t want to parrot what men have defined as leadership.  This isn’t to dismiss men or say that they’re not awake to change, it’s just that they haven’t needed to question their linear way of thinking and women have.  We’re asking men to be more relational in their thinking and behaviour, which is against their biology.

When a woman comes to me it’s because she’s trying to work out what her highest calling is.  I help them to find their power centre and build an unshakeable bond with their higher self and smaller self.  The barriers that she faces are probably not external, they are probably barriers that she has inside herself.  If we don’t feel great then, when life goes wrong, it’s hard to stay aligned.  I call it the anti-fragile approach because it creates strength from within.

However idyllic a childhood someone has, there’s always some trauma to unpack.  When you’re a child, you think that the sun follows you around.  This has huge consequences because we think that everything is under our control, good and bad, so we take on too much guilt.  Once we unlock these aspects we can start to learn what we are here to do that is uniquely us, who are we here to serve?

In an increasingly uncertain world women’s non-linear approach is a benefit and is going to lead to more awareness, more creativity.

I ask little questions to my clients: What lights you up?  What do your friends say you do well but you don’t even notice?  My questions are an invitation to adopt a state of being where they can live in a state of wonder, being open and curious to the world.  If they can break through their barriers and live aligned with their consciousness, they can find what lights them up.

We often know the answers to our problems but we don’t trust our intuition; we’re slow moving cargo ships in the middle of the Atlantic.  If we’re lucky enough to have people who can see our blind-spots, they can mirror what our true self is emitting.  That distance betweenwhat we are emitting, what we are called to do, and what we think we should do, when they’re not aligned, that’s the problem.

Working to 5 years plans just doesn’t work anymore.  Life is so unpredictable and the old female ways of knowing and being are now critical in leading the new epoch of helping with that unpredictability.  Women are primed for this way of life.

I’m not a patriarchy basher but that system doesn’t serve us any longer. A lot of times women can’t put their finger on what the problem is so it presents as low grade depression or anxiety. This is connected to unrealised potential.  They are aware of shifts that are happening. They can feel the possibilities but they don’t know how to be.

This weekend I’m giving a talk at Hatch to celebrate ‘International Women’s Day’. We’re living through unprecedented times with the internet connecting us globally.  Most people influence around 1,000 people in their lifetimes. Excited, innovative and dynamic people like Hubbers and Hatchers could increase their influence around 10K or 100K: that’s so exciting.  If you only need to change the minds of 5% of a population to shift a population’s beliefs, then together our influence could be huge.

We are living in times that have never been experienced before. And I’m so excited.

Banner photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
Umbella photo by Noah Näf on Unsplash

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Brixton Green is the community organisation trying to bring a development of affordable, community-managed housing to Brixton.  Manned entirely by volunteers, Brixton Green have worked tirelessly on the project for over 10 years.  Recently, Lambeth council decided to reject the proposal, much to Brixton Green’s surprise.

Hub Storyteller Ann Storr met with Abigail Melville, Brixton Green community trustee and former Lambeth councillor, and Dinah Wood, Brixton Green chair, in Brockwell Blend’s beautiful yard.  They discussed the project, its vision for a sustainable Lambeth, and where to go from here.

Brixton Green members

Some background:

If you don’t know about Brixton Green, then you can read more on their website.  This mutual organization has been working towards delivering a mixed-use development of 234 flats, all for rent. Since 2008, it has been working with Lambeth Council to deliver this community-led housing development, in the hope of answering the community’s needs  Lambeth Council recently rejected the proposal, claiming that Brixton Green breaks state aid rules, and that there are significant funding gaps.

Lambeth recently published their intention to create ‘Homes for Lambeth’.  ‘Homes for Lambeth’ is intended as a vehicle to build, deliver and manage properties in Lambeth, and will be entirely council owned.  While it’s not clear if Lambeth intend to use ‘Homes for Lambeth’ to deliver the Somerleyton Road site, Brixton Green claim that they have been told verbally that this is Lambeth’s intention.  Dinah and Abigail believe that, based on their long term work with the council that ‘Homes for Lambeth’ does not have the ability to deliver the project.  It is also not clear if any of these properties would be sold to homeowners as part of the overall project, so not solving the affordable housing problem in the long term.

Dinah says that these state aid claims are plainly untrue.  “We asked Lambeth if it would be helpful to see if anyone would lend us the funds needed, and they said it would.”  So, they tried, but Lambeth would not give Brixton Green the terms of the lease, as they said this was confidential.  Gaps were addressed by investment from low-risk pension funds.

Long term vision for our community:

“The culture and the processes aren’t in place in Lambeth council to make this work” said Abigail.  Another huge problem, Dinah explained, is that the council is just talking about development; they are not thinking long term about the community who will still be living here long after these councillors have moved on to new jobs and areas.  Brixton Green is looking at a 250-year lease, and how the project would become self-sustaining over time.  Last summer (2017), Brixton Green met with potential investors from pension funds.  Pension funds look for solid investments that are long term, low risk, providing low but consistent returns (3-4% over 25 years).

3 separate pension funds said that, in principle, they would lend to Brixton Green: the figures work and the business model is sound.

The rental model

Brixton Green will run on a mixed income rent model: social housing, income linked and private.  At the beginning of the project, 28% of the properties are for Lambeth’s Housing List; 22% are income linked with 50% genuinely affordable.  Additionally, no properties will be lost to the ownership sector, so are safeguarded for future residents.  Brixton Green communicated this to Lambeth, so it’s not clear why there is confusion.

The intention is that 72% of the properties would, in the long term, be for lower income rents.  The 50% affordable rents would, in effect, slowly grow a ‘savings pot’ that would then be used to subsidise lower income housing in the long term.  The model works, as proved by the success of the Places for People  (who supports Brixton Green).

No Champion:

The fundamental problem, Abigail and Dinah explained, is that there is no champion for Brixton Green at Lambeth Council. There has been such a high turnover of elected council leaders that they end up relying on the advice of unelected officers.  These officers seem uncomfortable with the idea of the wider community having a say; and that is why we are in this position.  The community just is not trusted, in their opinion.

‘Barking and Dagenham council have expressed an interest in the model which is great,” say Abigail and Dinah.  But this is a Brixton generated project, for Brixton, by the people of Brixton.  They want to deliver it to and for Brixton, as well as showing other people how to make a novel and community-led project.

Join Brixton Green here: www.brixtongreen.org/our-campaign-2018.

All photos Copywrite Jane Freund: http://www.fionafreund.com/

The post Brixton Green rejected: Why and what next? appeared first on Brixton.

Being a Hubber has many benefits, we like to think.  Hub storyteller Ann Storr met with some Hubbers, new and old, to see how being part of the Impact Hub community has helped their businesses grow and make change.

My Spiral

Spiral is the brainchild of Joel, Ben and Emma and began in the original Brixton Hub, in the town hall.  My Spiral is a careers programme for young people.  More than an interactive workshop or session, groups learn about an industry by working with professionals.

‘We wanted to ground Spiral in Brixton so that it can meet the needs of our community. Being part of the Hub has been invaluable because we’ve been able to meet like-minded people and organisations who help our enterprise grow.  We’re doing so well that we’ve just taken on a part-time member of staff.  Spiral has doubled its growth year-on-year since beginning trading in 2013.’

Spiral is supported by its delivery partners and funders, Lambeth Council and Building Young Brixton. Applying for funding is a complex process and Hubber Reetu Sood with her ‘Funding Helpdesk’ has simplified the process for us.

‘As a social enterprise we don’t have access to a lot of money.  The free Business Helpdesk sessions have meant that we’ve been able to get customized advice on how to deliver a successful pitch, how to apply for funding and get it.  When we were really new, we met Duncan Law and Rebecca Trevalyan who were hugely helpful in helping us get started and supported our first pitch to Transition Town Brixton.’

‘Our courses are 2-hour sessions over 10 weeks.  Our kids go through a variety of role play, job-shadowing and workshops.  We rely on professional volunteers to give a day of their time to help out.  A recent course investigated how to access the film world; we ran a day at the Hub so that the kids could film a scene that they’d scripted.  Two of our volunteers that day were Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares.  Daniel and Kibwe talked about their pathways into the industry and having the Hub space here to hire made our life easier!  Bringing members of the community together at the Hub and using the Hub for the people of Brixton and Lambeth is a pleasure and we love what we do.

Matt Taylor, VAPE SEO

‘I set up my business two years ago but I quickly realised I needed some desk space and I liked Impact Hub Brixton; the host who showed me round was warm and engaging, the community seemed great and having access to the amazing food at Pop was all I needed to sign up!’

‘Getting to know people at the shared hot desks saved my business. As I chatted with a fellow Hubber Mike, I explained that I was losing my rankings.  He asked me about my SEO but as I didn’t know what he was talking about, Mike kindly took me under his wing: he took his own time to work on my Keyword searches, set me going with a strategy.  I didn’t ask for this, it’s just typical of the great nature of the Hub.

As a result I’ve got a whole new strand in my business, helping Vape companies with their SEO.  The Hub is a great place to work, I wouldn’t be without it.’

https://www.medicpro.london/

Joe & Tom Shakli, Break the Cycle

Brake the Cycle arrange cycling tours around Europe, visiting permaculture and community projects.  More than simple cycle tours, Brake the Cycle seek to change the world one trip at a time. Tom spoke to Ann.

‘I was involved with the first Impact Hub Brixton when it started out in the town hall, so I knew that it would be a great place for us to meet like-minded people.  I was keen for us to be around other social entrepreneurs where serendipitous exchanges can happen whilst making coffee.

We don’t have a huge marketing budget to make lots of brochures to gather dust; we rely on networks such as Impact Hub and Facebook groups of cyclists.  It might take someone a year to make the decision to book a trip with us: first they’ll see us online then maybe hear about us from a number of places, and then see us in another forum, so being visible in a lot of places is invaluable.

Educating people about what a cycle tour is a really important part of Break the Cycle because a lot of our guests are coming to us for their first ever cycle holiday.  They’re drawn to us because of our interest in sustainability and team experience, not just covering huge distances on high-spec bikes.  Making sure that people can see what a tour looks like, how is the food organised, how fit they need to be is vital.  Working at Impact Hub where people aren’t always cyclists provides us with amazing customer intelligence to make sure that we are addressing questions that, as avid cyclists, we might assume people would know the answers to.

We’ve been put in touch with Hubs over Europe who might be able to help us to organise more tours and give us more information.  The enthusiasm and support of the management team here at the Hub has been huge for us as we start to plan our calendar for 2019 and beyond.

The post Connections, friendships and support: growing your business at Impact Hub appeared first on Brixton.

Network Rail have closed many businesses located in the arches under Brixton train line, first on Atlantic Road and now Station Road.  The structures needed work, but as Brixton changes rapidly, the fear is that businesses that have served generations of Brixtonians will not be able to return, and are unwanted in a future, gentrified Brixton.  These days the roads are quieter in footfall and traders feel ignored and unable to plan for their futures. Hub Storyteller Ann Storr went to meet a few of them.

Claudette and Michael of Bambino’s Children’s Clothes have been in business in Brixton for 34 years, on Station Road.  They sell children’s clothes, school uniforms and special outfits for baptisms and first Holy Communions.  The shop is packed full of beautiful dresses, Kickers and trousers in that shade of grey that takes any British kid right back to sitting on the school hall floor.

Claudette told me that she had always had good trade, bringing up 5 kids and sending them to university  There used to be a steady stream of people visiting the market, getting off and on the tube or train and parking at the car park.  As soon as the car park was shut, trade quickly dropped; combine that with shops shutting and the market being squeezed, fewer people are coming to Brixton for their everyday shopping.  In the 25 minutes that we talked, not a single customer came in “Look; I was reading the paper when you came in and I’ll finish it, and I’ll get through yesterday’s before the end of the day, too”.

“I’ve been to every [council consultation] meeting … we on this side [of Station Road] supported the traders in the arches because we knew we’d be next”.  There are no plans, that anyone knows of, to move any traders from Station Road; however, Claudette feels that her type of business is no longer wanted by the council, and that Station Road is being left to decline.

Akhtar from Alif Menswear on Atlantic Road echoed Claudette’s frustrations and fears. He has been in business for 27 years on Atlantic Road, selling all types of clothing for the get in your life; need a full suit?  He’s your guy.  Couple of tee shirts and some boxers?  He’s got you covered. He leases the shop from Network Rail. He leaned on the front counter and described how, despite repeated requests to Network Rail, he has no idea how long his lease will be renewed for; it could be 2 months or 3 years.  Soon he will need to purchase his Autumn & Winter 2018 stock, but, “what if I’m not here? How am I supposed to plan?” he asks, hands up to heaven.

Top that off with the increasing lorry traffic on Atlantic Road, the replacement of parking bays with loading-only bays and the hyper-vigilance of parking attendants, people are not willing to risk a parking ticket to grab a packet of socks on their way to work.  Add to that the boarded-up shops at the top of Atlantic Road which suggest that all the shops might be shut, and you have a miserable situation: “2017 was our worst ever Christmas” he sighed.  All the uncertainty makes it almost impossible for Akhtar to plan for the future of his shop and his livelihood.

It was a similar story at Mohammed Hasan’s new falafel foodcart on Station Road; his colleague Abdullah confirmed that the lack of footfall is having a massive impact.  They’re looking to sell the van and replace it with a gazebo, to save money.  Making a living is hard; the food vendors do try to keep each other’s spirits up, but spirits don’t pay the rent.

Ali Shah from Catwalk Wig Centre in the Arches also talked about the problems that started with the demolition of the car park, but his business is still going strong.  He has been in London since 1975 and trading from the arches since 2002; “You have to change; one thing isn’t working, you start something new”.  He believes that he is safe in his arch and is trying to not worry about it until he has to.  “It’s not easy” he says, “But what can you do?”

The traders are going through a tough time; they have organised, they have gone to meetings and campaigned.  Now, they just want answers and to know where they stand. They are doing their best in unsettling, challenging times. We cannot provide the answers but we can support them with our cash.

So, Hubbers and beyond: support our traders; shop local, shop Brixton. Keep informed about what is going on in the community, visit council meetings and read your local press.  Get your veg from the market, venture to the carts for your lunch and to one of the shops you might usually pass on by.

The post Trader stories: Staying afloat on Atlantic and Station Roads appeared first on Brixton.

Impact Hub Brixton held its first Community Project Fair on Monday 30^th April, Hub Storyteller Ann reports.  15 community projects came to pitch their projects, explain their mission and seek help bringing their community vision to life.

Joe asks us: “How would you use £10M for Lambeth?”

Joe Duggan and Wayne James facilitated an inspiring evening, buzzing with ideas, inspiration and enthusiasm to create real change.  Joe started us off with a challenge: Find someone you’ve never met before and discuss how you would improve Lambeth if you had £10 million to spare.  Suggestions ranged from buying up chunks of Brixton in order to safeguard property for low-income households, to funding community projects (and maybe a cheeky holiday, too).

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But even without £10 million in their pockets, these local organisations are bringing Lambeth’s neighbourhoods to life,

How you can help? Get involved as a volunteer in your local area, connect them to vital networks, and share their websites and profiles with your contacts.

Special thanks to Satay Bar for their support and provision of delicious curry that kept us beautifully fed as well as to Impact Hub member Tim for the pictures.

 (N.B. Projects are listed alphabetically)

Networking at Open Project Fair

Brixton Uprising Commemorative Event, founded byTony Cealy.

Commemorating the 40^th anniversary of the 1981 Brixton Uprising, this cultural programme will provide a lens with which to view the current political climate, connect grassroots political organisations and educate new Brixtonians about the rich activist heritage of their area.

Seeking: anyone who wants to create an act of exuberant defiance

Brixton Neighbourhood Forum

Local groups and organisations link through BNF, working together and networking.  They provide a monthly bulletin which contains sources of help and resources for community groups and businesses.
Seeking: More people to get involved and increase links/networks to ensure that the Forum represents the full diversity of the community.  And social media help!

Ebony Horse Club

Naomi, Juan and Khadisha are empowering children through horse riding, horse care and activities such as entrepreneurship, outdoor residentials.
Seeking: awareness, volunteers and increasing opportunities for kids.

Eco Soul Hostel

Imagine you’re visiting a new city: want to stay in a non-descript mega hotel with only your phone to tell you where’s good to eat? How about a not-for-profit social enterprise that cares, full of passionate and knowledgeable people?  15 non-profit partners have signed up to make a Hostel system to break the mould.
Seeking: property and investment

Testimonial from local resident

Groove School

New to Pop, Groove School is a volunteer-based organisation, teaching music to children of all ages and abilities.  Children learn and have performed at Crystal Palace Overgound, Lambeth Country Show & the South Bank.
Seeking: more volunteers, visibility, funding!

Inclusion Arts

Art has the power to help people to articulate tricky ideas.  One previous project wanted to make it easier for people to talk about healthy eating and obesity; creating art and chatting with an NHS nutritionist whilst painting and creating was a calmer and gentler way to have these conversations and help people make positive change.
Seeking: ideas, people!

Incredible Edible Lambeth

If you grow local food, eat local food or enjoy local food, Incredible Edible are for you . They have extensive skills in urban farming, cooking and running cafes where you can enjoy healthy meals with neighbours and local residents.
Seeking: developing a wants & offers board for their site. Come along to their upcoming Open Project Night on 4^th June to talk about generating your own income from food.

Listening to pitches at Open Project Fair

Kennington Chartist Project 7^th July 2018

Celebrating and remembering the Chartist Movement with a festival on the 7^th July, the project wants to draw parellels with South London’s history in political activism and empower London’s youth.  Come along to learn about finding your own political voice, print-making (political or otherwise) and how the Chartists changed democracy.  The project is also building towards a big, 175^th Anniversary Event in 5 year’s time.
Seeking: youth groups to come along on 7^th July.  Ideas to work on what the 175^th anniversary should look like: a festival? A monument? Have your say.

Project Smith is all about reducing adult isolation and enabling people to build resilient networks of support. They offer 4 days of free training to enable community connectors to build a more resilient, positive community.
Seeking: If you know a doctor, police or nurse who would like to become a Community Connector please get in touch with Fraser and Dave (f.serle@nhs.net or Dave Goslyn dave.goslyn@nhs.net).

Testimonial from local resident

Rapport Film Festival 15^th – 17^th June 2018

Now in its second year, the Rapport Film Festival showcases the best of the African Diaspora arts.  This multidisciplinary Arts Festival will feature theatre, dance, art, workshops and more.
Seeking: Are you an excel/admin pro, or do you know Brixton like the back of your hand?  If so please get in touch!  You could be amongst the first to see the grime installation at the Institute of Silly Ideas.

Rastafari Movement UK 4^th August 2018

The theme of this year’s African International Diaspora Day is ‘Empowering our Youth’.  Celebrating and drawing attention to Emancipation Day, Rastafari UK will be leading their annual event to showcase their chanting, drumming, craft and workshops. Through these actions they look to heal the wounds of the past and build a positive future by providing opportunities.
Seeking: please come along & get involved

An Inclusion Arts project

The Remakery

Linking materials that were once on their way to landfill with makers who make beautiful objects.
Seeking: people who are interested in print making, electronics and DIY who will help to develop the print room.  Also seeking members!

Third Space Canteen

Tired? Hungry? Wanna eat healthy?  Then Third Space Canteen might be the place for you.  Pay a subscription to join others in your community to eat a home-cooked, sustainably sourced meal.
Seeking: Nicola is looking for a permanent home, so if you know a small bakery or café that’s closed in the evenings give her a shout. Also: a chef for occasional events and a cook for when the canteen is up and running. People with specialist sustainability knowledge

Transition Town Brixton

More local, empowered, reskilled and co-operative future for Brixton and beyond.
Seeking: people with interest and knowledge in energy efficiency & Bank of Lambeth, or any of TT’s amazing projects.

The post “I’m gonna be a volunteer round here …” – the 1st Open Project Night Community Fair appeared first on Brixton.

The Windrush Scandal continues to affect many citizens of the UK, and in particular Lambeth.  Hub Storyteller Ann Storr met with the Diaspora Support Network and Lambeth Law Centre to hear a few of the stories behind the headlines and find out what we can all do to help our community.

Post-war Britain was desperate for help to rebuild its infrastructure and called to the people of the Commonwealth to relocate and pitch in. People moved to the UK expecting a warm welcome, but instead found racism, hostility, grey skies and bad food.  Decades on, having contributed to the economy and having their raised families here, new questions are being raised about them and their children’s immigration status.  Many were never ‘naturalised’, as it seemed unnecessary, expensive and they were deemed British subjects from the outset.

A toxic combination of Teresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ for immigrants, cuts in Legal Aid for immigration cases and constant alterations to immigration law has left people scared, vulnerable, and, in some cases without their homes, jobs and healthcare owing to questions relating to their immigration status.

Brixton is home to many families of the Windrush generation; trying to help these people in need are the Diaspora Support Network and Lambeth Law Centre.  The DSN was founded by Neasha Clarke to support people of the African diaspora, providing support for legal problems, including immigration or post-conviction repatriation.  The DSN provides invaluable pastoral support around immigration; calling people to see how their cases are progressing; making sure people have not been unfairly detained; sign-posting to where people can receive help with benefits, housing or any other related problems. Immigration advice can only be given by solicitors and officials; Neasha’s pastoral care is a lifeline and perfect companion to the legal advice that the LLC provides.

Here’s a typical story: a Barabadan woman called the DNS after hearing their interview on Vibes FM.  When she moved to the UK her status was ‘British subject’; she never naturalised her citizenship.  Since the onset of the ‘Windrush scandal’ she has felt paralysed because of the lack of hard information and the fear of what could happen to hear.  Learning that there are people in her community are out there, helping and fighting, gave her the courage to reach out.

“The lack of due process is the main problem” says Michael Tarnoky, Director of the Lambeth Law Centre. There is great uncertainty as there is no definitive guidance from the Home Office saying, “this is what we need”.  People fear that they will be unfairly detained when they have to sign in with Immigration.  One client told Neasha when he was due to sign in at Immigration that, if he didn’t call by a certain time, to raise the alarm.

Helen Hayes, local MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, has been amazing at helping her constituents.  “They always granted [citizenship] in the end but it was very long-winded and people would lose their rights to their house, their job.  By the time they did grant it (which they would do eventually) the person would be so stressed and their health would have deteriorated to the point that they were not the same person anymore” explained Neasha.

“As far as you’re concerned, you’re legally here and everything’s fine and then someone in the Home Office decides there’s an extra piece of paper that you don’t have …  This is [also] an alarm bell for European … migrants who are at risk of the same kind of treatment” explained Neasha.  The same problems are extending from the Windrush generation to European migrants; Michael and the Lambeth Law Centre helped a settled EU migrant. Her infant daughter had received her first British passport, no problems as the baby had been “born British”, i.e., to a settled EU migrant. Her daughter’s second passport (at 5 years old) was declined when the Home Office said “we don’t think you’re British”.  The hostile environment seems to be creeping up on anyone, and it’s an unsettling thought.

What can we do to be good allies?  DSN and LLC want to help as many people as possible to get their papers in order so that they can be sure of their citizenship status, but moreover to avoid future immigration-based problems surrounding their housing, health and employment rights.  Enabling people to resolve their immigration status would give individuals certainty, make their lives less stressful and enable LLC to work on more cases.

Community effort is the way forward.  “The hostile environment has deliberately isolated people and made them afraid.  This is a way of fighting the hostile environment, which can only be a good thing” Michael added

Please support DSN’s crowdfunding through cash, fundraisers or advice.  All is needed and all is welcomed.

The post The Windrush Generation: what next? appeared first on Brixton.

Francis Adaji, Legal Executive, was our visiting expert on Employment Law for Danna’s amazing Business Help Desk.  Ann Storr writes up some key learnings

Most Employment Law suits are filed as a result of due-process not being followed.  Whether or not the employee is at fault, the employer must follow legal process when hiring, firing and anything in between.  Don’t care to?  You risk being taken to court, and it is a lengthy (read: expensive) process.  Also, we’re not talking “right” and “wrong” here: legal judgments are handed down to reflect how well the law is applied, not how ‘bad’ an employee may or may not be.  This ain’t Insta, people.

Speaking from cold-blooded experience (11 years as core admin on a big team and a parent who was an Industrial Tribunal judge): better to hire no-one rather than the wrong person. Rather be a bit stretched, or deal with temps, than have someone who cannot or will not undertake the work you need doing, because it’s very difficult to fire staff.

This is not a bad situation: think back to when you were the employee and the dignity that you expected.  Apply that reasoning, especially with an employee that you are struggling with. This way you are more likely to make a sensible, considered and legal decision.

Employment law tips for start-ups:

Before you employ anyone decide: do you want to hire an employee? or would you rather work with a self-employed individual?

• Using self-employed person who pays their own taxes and won’t be asking for sick or holiday pay *sounds* great but … not so quick tiger
• Think about what you need: is it ad-hoc help, or someone that you need to be available at certain times of the day, reliably?
• The law looks for and actively discourages sham arrangements where a person works as a contractor but is treated like an employee

Register with HMRC before first payday.

• Run a payroll and issue employee with a payslip, detailing pay before and after deductions (National Insurance, PAYE and pension contributions)
• As an employer you are legally obligated to contribute towards employee pensions
• Software is available to automate this.

Right to work:

• You must check an individual’s right to work in the UK
• Employee must bring in their passport of drivers’ license which you copy, sign and date
• You might want to check a freelancer’s right to work in the UK.

Contracts/starting work:

• Employment that lasts for more than 2 months requires a written contract
• Should you use an outsourced team in another country then they are subject to their country’s employment law, e.g., French law in France, Indian in India. Which is why a lot of companies outsource…
• All work is subject to the British Minimum Wage. See how you can become an accredited Living Wage Employer here.
• A fixed-term probationary period, usually around 3-6 months, is strongly advised; longer periods can be negotiated if strictly necessary but this is very unusual (if someone can’t do the job after 9 months, for example, then maybe you’ve hired the wrong person)

Once an employee has worked with you for 2 years they have full UK employment rights.  It is very difficult to remove someone on the grounds of poor performace after they have reached this threshold.

Dismissal

Roughly speaking, to instigate process for firing someone for poor performance an employer must (and provide documentation pertaining to):

• Firstly: invite the employee to a meeting
• Secondly: give the employee a formal warning in writing
• Thirdly: given them the opportunity to appeal
• Fourthly: give them a reasonable opportunity to improve, e.g., provide training

In the event of Gross Misconduct (e.g., stealing, fighting, bringing the company into disrepute), you still need to follow fair procedure, e.g.,:

• Opportunity to defend themselves
• Right to appeal

Discrimination:

You must not treat someone less favourably because of their age, sex, race, colour etc.

Direct discrimination is the obvious: not hiring a person becauce you object to their sexual orientation or call a personal by a racial epithet.

Indirect discrimination occurs if you impose a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ which places people belonging to certain groups at a disadvantage, and which cannot be objectively justified, e.g., making a devout Jewish person work on the Sabbath.

Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave

• Women are entitled to 26 weeks statutory maternity leave
• Men are entitled to 2 weeks paternity leave
• You may not ask anyone of either gender about hopes or plans to conceive at any time as this could construe discrimination

None of this constitutes full legal advice.  Your rule of thumb is old school: do unto others.  Remember that you are responsible for your employee’s ability to pay rent.  If they are not up to the job, take advice if needs be and set the process in motion, and don’t make it personal.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Photo by CAPITOL STANDARD on Unsplash

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

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Crowdfunding: easy peasy to set up, but how many lack-lustre campaigns have *you* seen?  Hub Storyteller Ann Storr spoke with Jes Bailey from Crowdfund 360 about what makes a successful campaign.

Planning your crowdfunder: 

A basic crowdfunder takes (roughly) 2 full days for 8 weeks to get up off the ground.  It is therefore important to know in advance whether you can commit the time needed.  A limp campaign can actually damage the very message that you want to communicate.  It’s also vital to double-check your campaign dates. For example, a campaign that launches at the end of the school year or 5 days before Christmas, is unlikely to succeed.

Be a pessimist!  Start with the figure of 10% uptake.  You want £100K to launch a new product.  Say your mailing list has 10,000 people, that’s amazing. But ask yourself, how many people will actually open that mail?  Let’s say that 15% of people do.  Then we’re looking at 1,500 people in total.  And how many of them click through your mail?  Maybe 10%?  So that’s 150 people.  The average crowdfunder donation is £25. 150 people giving £25 is £3750. That’s a step in the right direction but …

… you need to speak to as many people as possible. If you are now thinking social media, that’s great!  Crowdfunding is and must be an integrated part of a social media and comms strategy.  It needs to fit into your organisation’s mission and message.  If you don’t have that strategy already, hold on – write an overall strategy and work out how crowdfunding feeds into it. Make sure your content is written before you kick off. When you’re building your strategy it’s essential to know that eye-contact is your friend.  This makes potential donors feel that there’s a relationship. Perceived interactivity is key, so have video and/or pictures where people giving testimonials about your crowdfunder are making eye-contact ‘through’ the screen.

You have to catch people at the right time with hard, take-home messages: ask a friend to look at your draft comms. If they can’t understand your message within 5 seconds, then ask them what they think is going on and keep editing until it’s utterly clear.  Your crowdfunder is your life but it is not your audience’s life!  Make it easy for them to want to give to you. 

A compelling story is essential.  Make sure that your story involves a diversity of voices. Say your social enterprise helps school kids to access free music lessons and you want funding to move into more schools to help more kids.  People need to hear from children who have the lessons and kids who want the free lessons in their school, parents who are grateful for the lessons, teachers who see the difference in the kids’ performance and happiness, musicians or employers who see the soft skill benefits, the local MP who loves the employment assistance… These layers add trust to your story (remember we just talked about eye-contact), show that you have thought through your crowdfunder, how the money will be used, who it will benefit, and that it is likely to be useful and, in fact, that it isn’t a fraud. 

Launching … with money already in the pot 

Launch your campaign at 2-3pm on a Tuesday afternoon.  But launch it privately on Monday night.  You need to check that all your links work, that the PayPal works, all the details need to be right.  It’s essential to launch your crowdfunder with a little money in the pot and you want to be at 30% within the first few days.  So you need to donate! You must be the first one, then your family and friends. Crowd psychology tells us that no-one likes to be the first person to the party. If asked to choose, where would you rather have your Friday night dinner? At the half full restaurant with the nice vibe? Or the empty one with some desperate looking wait staff? You want lots of small donations from many people (hey, in addition to some nice chunky donations), so that’s where you and your mates come in.  A high-profile, generous donor is particularly useful (if you know someone…).

Beware your facebook profile.  The general rule is to keep a clear line between personal and professional profiles and content.  So if you accept  anyone as a facebook friend, then remember that you have basically a public profile. This could have a detrimental effect on your crowdfunder. At the same time, make sure to promote your crowdfunder through your private profile, because a variety of givers is best. 

You can’t rush crowdfuning: Jes recommends 8 weeks of prep if you already have a donor base or strong and engaged social following. You can’t ask a stranger for £25 and expect that they trust you and invest in the way that you hope they would.  Crowdfunding is the same ask!  It is a huge amount of work but it should feed into and support your overall social media and comms goals.  Every picture, video and infographic means content that you can use again.  And one successful campaign means you can build on it and do another one in the future.

Jes Bailey is Founder of Crowdfund 360 an award winning crowdfunding consultancy that has an 80% success rate. She has recently run her 8 week training course for social enterprises at Impact Hub Brixton in Collaboration with Chuffed. If you are looking to crowdfund, get in touch with Jes at Crowdfund 360 for a free 20 minute consultation. Email her on info@crowdfund-360.com for that. Alternatively, take a look at her 8 week online course which will prepare you in everything related to your upcoming crowdfunding campaign and have you ready to launch after the 8 week training is complete. That can be bought here: https://www.crowdfund-360.com/?product=online-crowdfunding-training-course

Cat photo by Alain Pham on Unsplash

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In a city as prosperous as London, there are many people who cannot afford food for themselves, their families and their children. During the holiday period some children really do go hungry.  The summer holidays are a financial and mental burden for the poorest families in our community.  Many schools provide breakfast through charities such as Magic Breakfasts, and many children are entitled to free school meals (all children up to the end of year 2; from year 3 onwards, it depends on parent’s income and benefits).  If your income cannot stretch to feed everyone, every day, for 6 weeks, what do you do? Hub Storyteller Ann Storr spoke to 2 local Holiday Hunger Helpers.

Food coming into Max Roach

Before I spoke with Candice James, manager of Max Roach One O’Clock Club, and Mala Naiker, Brixton food Guru, I was familiar with the idea of ‘holiday hunger’ but the concept of ‘holiday boredom’ was a new one.  Candice and Mala explained to me that parents may be out at work all day, leaving older children to look after little ones, because childcare is too expensive. Or kids are turfed out of the house all day so that parents can ration what little food there is.  “And that’s where the mischief happens” said Candice.  Mala went further  “I was in a chicken shop and kids were taking sachets of ketchup – when I asked them why they explained that they mix the ketchup with water which fills them up”.

Max Roach Children’s Centre is in the Coldharbour Ward, which has high levels of deprivation: 80% of the families attending Max Roach receive Job Seeker’s Allowance or Income Support, and the remaining 20% work but are not materially better off.  It’s a small children’s centre, says Candice, but it does represent the make-up of the community.  Candice started providing meals as part of holiday provision after formal feedback from parents and informal conversations with parents and children.  They wanted healthy, free meals.  “We are providing a nutritious meal in the holidays which is important because the meals [children] have at home are of low nutritional value.”  Meals are free to everyone because free access removes stigma and helps to create communities. “Everybody’s in the same boat”, working or not.

Cooking at Max Roach

Candice provided a whole vegetarian week in February’s half term which is a huge achievement in the Coldharbour ward, where chicken is a daily staple.  “The children ate [the vegetarian food] and actually enjoyed it. Part of them enjoying the meals that we create is that they are involved in the cooking process.  We choose ‘kitchen fairies’ on the day … and they help to create the menus … and parents help too.”  Involvement about types of meals and how to be creative with the surplus that they receive means that it’s an effort for and by the community.

Food surplus is delivered from organisations such as City Harvest and, of course, Mala.  Families are encouraged to take food away, and welcome the opportunity to widen the diet that they can offer their children.  The kids enjoy it, too – they like going home with a box of food that they have made at the centre, showing their parents that cooking doesn’t have to be hard or take a long time.  Cooking after a long day at a low-income job (often manual/on your feet type work) or dealing with Universal Credit can be a task that’s easy to side-step, and that is understandable – we all know that a long, trying day can make us all want a cold glass of wine/beer and to reach for Deliveroo.  Also, when it’s cold outside and cooking the food costs a lot on your pre-payment gas or electric, a £1.99 chicken meal starts making a lot of sense.

Mala picking up surplus

Redistributing surplus food helps low-income families, but, understandably, there is fear and stigma around it: “You educate people as to what you can do with this food” says Mala.  “We’ve all been psychologically framed by marketing and we are brainwashed … Last week I had a lot of carrots from Borough Market and because of the weather they were all dry and it didn’t look as if they were edible. This lovely old man was so offended, he said ‘How dare you offer this to my family?’. So I broke it in half and ate it in front of him, so he knew it was safe”.  Rightly, no-one wants to eat dangerous food simply because of their income, so Mala tries all the food she offers.  “I saw his wife the next day and he’d drunk the carrot juice she’d made with it!  He had no idea, but they were all happy!”.

Help is definitely needed in our community over the holidays and beyond:

Mala always needs

• to know about more surplus
• people who can fetch and carry surplus food and deliver it to individuals or community groups
  
• Email commshubbrixton@gmail.com and we will forward your email to her.

Candice is always looking for funding.  She needs:

• support to evaluate her food project to strengthen future bids
• new volunteers for Food Ambassadors or general volunteers
• new partners and parents to strengthen their offering in the community
• Email commshubbrixton@gmail.com for further information

The post Brixton’s Holiday Hunger Helpers. appeared first on Brixton.

Pia brought 4 weeks of energy, positivtity and creativity to the Hub, and we miss her very much.  She spoke with three Hubbers to learn more about what Impact Hub means to them.

Come back soon Pia!  Thank you for the amazing mural and all the ideas you brought to the team.

“Breaking assumptions is an important part of what we do.”

You can ask Francisco Costa about the latest celebrity news, and about the updates on the education system in Ethiopia depending on your interest.

A Hubber for a year and a half, Francisco works on Trendtype with Ben on the third floor. Their work is focused on breaking assumptions related to African markets and providing businesses with useful information that puts Africa’s realities into context.

Francisco is just back from a trip to South Africa and Kenya.  He has a very international background: born in China, lived in Portugal, travelled all over the Middle East and conducted research in many countries of Africa. He used to work for the government in Portugal but has found his niche in the startup world here in London.

One thing you might not know about Francisco is that he’s colorblind; he sees black, white, and all other colors close to green. The secret behind his fashionable clothing however, is that he has sets of clothes that he knows go together!

Francisco is fond of the people and the environment of Brixton, but he also has a unique perspective on the cultural aspects. Brixton surrounds him with elements from his research. “You can find the same noodles sold in Nigeria” he says.

“Summer in London is a festival, but not everyone has the confidence to go out”

Meet Jasmin White: a poet, a matchmaker and an explorer motivated by connecting people.

Working at the Hub for the last year, Jasmin is the co-ordinator of the Love Your Neighbour programme for South London Cares. As part of the programme, she matches older and younger neighbours to form meaningful friendships and connect with their community. “My friends always joke it’s like Tinder” she says, and adds “I love hearing about other people’s experiences and stories.”

Jasmin comes from a path of travel and exploration. She moved to London from Bournemouth three years ago and met SLC through a community choir. On her journey, Jasmin went to New Zealand for a gap year before university, then volunteered and taught in Nepal, India, and Zimbabwe. She has worked at HeadStart, finding opportunities for young people to volunteer in their local community, and as an activities coordinator at different schools. She recommends travelling alone to connect with local cultures and yourself.

Besides her involvement in charities and community strengthening, Jasmin is a poet/performer. She writes ditties or poems depending on her mood, and sometimes gives performances. Jasmin’s inspirations include music, literature, and the news.

Jasmin says that South London Cares has grown with the Hub, both literally and figuratively. The organization started with 4 people and expanded to 11, getting a separate room because of their loud phone calls with older neighbours. In “buzzing” Brixton, Jasmin enjoys the friendly community but also observes social issues day to day. To her, Brixton’s efforts for social change is an example of how “it all comes back to community”.

“Ask why?” &“Diversify”

Meet Danna Walker: a passionate architect from Brixton, motivated by bringing new voices into the conversation about housing and community architecture.

Danna was an electrical apprentice at 16.  Sher fed her passion for design by studying architecture, a path rarely taken for a female electrician. As one of the few women of colour in her field, Danna says “as an industry we haven’t figured out inclusivity”.  So, she “mixed business with mission” to ignite change.

A Hub member since we were located in Lambeth Town Hall, Danna is the founder of Built By Us, a social enterprise aiming to “diversify construction” in the UK. She is currently working on the Summer Social for BBU and coordinating the Business Helpdesk at the Hub, alongside her work with organizations she plays key roles in.

Danna describes “asking why?” as an important component of her journey. “Architecture is a language – I knew it was, but it took me time to understand it” she says. After achieving fluency in the language, she still continues to question and learn from her surroundings. “You can spot me from a mile away. Everyone has their head down and I’m just looking up at the sky”. Danna uses her observational skills for drawing as well. “I always found a way to incorporate drawing into whatever I’m doing” she says.

To Danna, Brixton is unique with its’ density; all the diversity and layers are very close to each other, making the neighbourhood “come to life”. Danna compares Brixton to a “patchwork quilt” and says it has a life of its own with colours, music and textures.

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Project Smith is one of Lambeth’s best loved community organisations.  Dave Gosslyn, our brand new Tuesday morning host, is Project Smith’s new manager. Dave talked with Hub Storyteller Ann Storr about the new round of funding, and the difference that the community is  making to the lives of Lambeth’s residents through the Wellbeing Fund.

The Lambeth Wellbeing Fund is part of Project Smith’s community work.  It is a grant programme that welcoms local, individual citizens and small community organisations to apply for small grants (between £1,000 and £5,000) to lift their community health and wellbeing projects.  Individuals know what their communities need and have the skills to make it happen – they just need the money to pay for their time and resources. That is where the Lambeth Wellbeing fund steps in.

Everyone has the potential to make a difference, but often we have to fit into a huge, pre-existing framework. That can feel overwhelming and limiting.  Sometimes it’s small projects that can make a huge difference.  Lots of us can see problems that can be solved easily, but we don’t have the time or the money.  But now, you can!  Think: how can I have an impact and potentially solve that problem?  Still not sure?  Any project that can apply for this funding needs to achieve one of the ‘Three I Statements’:

1. I feel able to manage my health and wellbeing
2. I feel able to avoid a crisis
3. I feel part of a community

For example, maybe you know that there’s a group of older men in your Lambeth neighbourhood who are a bit isolated, and you think that a lunch club would help to solve that problem.  To run the club you would need to pay for food, the rent for a church hall, printing some fliers and your time.  That’s going to cost you £3,000, say.   Okay, that’s the perfect type of project for Lambeth Well-being Funding.

Project Smith is interested in projects that will help wellbeing based on the 5 ways of wellbeing.  There is a focus on projects that are looking to help men, people coping with dementia and carers. They are really interested in what local people in their communities can do, which is why people can apply for their own labour time – this isn’t about people volunteering and (potentially) being out-of-pocket, this is about enabling people to do good work.

Laughter Yoga in Coldharbour Ward is a brilliant example of a Lambeth Wellbeing project.  Zeenat, the organiser, started these workshops because of her own mental health and family struggles.  She’d learnt about Laughter Yoga and it made such a huge difference to her that she knew it would be wonderful for her community.

What is laughter yoga?  Okay, you’re reading this bog post.  Maybe it’s grey outside, maybe your bus is late, your invoices aren’t being paid and you’ve just had a row with your SO.  Try to laugh.  Just a little.  Go on!  Squash up your diaphragm, as though you’re watching your favourite stand up. Or just try to smile.   Your brain just kinda runs with it, if you let it.  Maybe just a hint of a smile is creeping up? Your brain doesn’t care where that smile comes from, really – let that happiness keep coming.  Cue serotonin and all that loveliness and bam! You’ve tricked yourself into being in a better mood and now you are in a better mood.  Mix that up with stretching out those muscles and learning to relax a little better, and you have laughter yoga.  That is just a small example of what laughter yoga can achieve.

Zeenat’s laughter yoga classes brought the community together in a way that wasn’t happening before, getting people moving and laughing and stretching.  One mum told told Zeenat that she “re-learnt how to laugh after not being able to for a long time because of the stresses of life”.    Community focus, community skills and just a little funding to make it happen.

Project Smith are hosting three funding workshops, all in the evening and all catered.  Come along if you’ve got an idea that’s bubbling in your brain, or even if you’re just interested.

“Local people are the best solution to solving problems in their communities because they are the best people to drive projects in their area. That’s what Project Smith is all about.  If you have an idea in your mind for a while or just want to get involved and help people’s health and wellbeing, come along to a workshop and learn more about the Lambeth Wellbeing Fund.”

More: https://londoncf.org.uk/grants/lambeth-wellbeing-fund

Workshops – dinner is provided!

Tuesday 4 September, 6.30-8.30pm – West Norwood Health & Leisure Centre, 25 Devane Way, SE27 0DF
Thursday 6 September, 6.30-8.30pm – One O’clock Club, Agnes Riley Gardens, Clapham Park, SW12 0AH
Thursday 20 September, 6.30-8.30pm – Streatham Baptist Church, 20-22 Lewin Road, SW16 6JR

Deadline

5pm on 26 October 2018

Banner image Dimitar Belchev on Unsplash

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We’ve all heard about mindfulness, have hopefully avoided the sometimes toxic narratives around ‘wellness’ and are au fait with downward facing dog and shivasna. You may have tried chia porridge (I have not).  Hub Storyteller Ann Storr learnt about real breathing with Wellbeing guru Sonja.

Have you tried learning more about something as simple – as fundamental and basic – as your breathing?  From healthy movement to fuller breathing, there are simple and effective techniques we can all learn to help us move through the world with greater calm, assurance and effectiveness.

The amazing Sonja

Sonja has been running ‘Breathe to Be’ courses at Impact Hub during August.  I admit, I was not feeling calm, effective or assured when I joined the final workshop of the series. It was a school holiday day and I’d battled to the Hub with my sometimes shy ten-year-old in tow, and she had to study.  There were meetings to contribute to, birthday presents to buy, late invoices to chase and some work that I was desperate to smash… so, yes, this was the perfect time to join in Sonja’s amazing course.

Eight of us tucked into the Gallery, mostly looking a little tense and distracted.  Sonja welcomed us, gave a brief intro to herself and her work.  She then asked us to place our hands on our stomach, our chest, close our eyes, and breathe.  After guiding us through some light breathing, Sonja brought us back to eyes open and, after blinking back to reality, she asked us which hand had moved more.  I could feel my heart rate slow as I relaxed.  Sonja gently led us through structures of breathing, guiding us through how to breath using the full capacity of our lungs.

Most of us breath from the top of our chests, our shoulders rising and falling. This means that we are failing to use our full lung capacity.  Health benefits are a part of the reason to learn how to breathe well.  Link between breathing and our stress response system and its hormones (aka ‘fight or flight) are still being unpicked by researchers.  All that is known is that there is a link and learning to adopt a calm response to stress may help to avoid inflammation (which can lead chronic health problems including heart disease).

Placing hands underneath your ribs, on the side, to feel the expansion

Sonja invited us to experience another exercise.   Again one hand to belly one to chest, closed our eyes.   We breathed and thought of a person, an object of place that brings happiness.  I imagined my kids, when they cosy up together.  We sat and just enjoyed that feeling, and thought about how that felt. It felt bloody marvellous.  Next we had to think of a person or memory that provokes stress.  I felt my breath become shallow, the smile that I’d had evaporate and a frown set in, I felt my fingers tighten.  To learn how to cope with that feeling, Sonja taught us 4462 breathing: breath in to a steady count of 4, retain the breath for the same count of 4, slowly exhale to a count of 6, retain for 2, and repeat until the tightness has gone.

The next day I was walking my dog which sounds lovely and calming. Watching him hobble, I panicked about how much it’ll cost to get him all fixed up, about life, about bills to pay and parenthood.  It was all getting on top of me.  I remembered what Sonja said and placed my hand on my chest: I felt the pressure of my hand, the tension in my fingers and shallowness of breath.  I breathed in to a count of 4, held for 4, exhaled for 6 and paused for a count of 2.  A few round of this and the problems remain but my sense of panic had abated, and I felt able to cope.  Utterly amazing.

Sonja is running ’30 Days to Thrive’ this month (you can catch up), in addition to running meditation workshops for Thursdays in September.  Please join in!

Sonja will be teaching meditation on Thursday afternoons throughout September.  If you think you can’t meditate I bet you are wrong! Come along, Hubbers, and give it a try.  Fancy something you can practice at home?  Download here. Sonja is offering a 70% discount for Hubbers; email her hello@wildorange.co for the code, or ask Steph.

Five Things to Know About Breathing, by Sonja

1. A full belly breath is the secret to a happier, calmer life;
2. Full deep belly breathing sends a signal to your brain that all is well, no danger, no need to run;
3. Every breath has a corresponding emotion – we can change the way we feel by being aware of and changing the way we breathe. It is a powerful tool, one you have with you every moment of every day;
4. Practicing deep breathing, low and slow will have a profoundly positive impact on your wellbeing; and
5. So many benefits – aids in sleep, reduces stress and anxiety, is an anti-aging tool, increases energy, improves focus and concentration – the list is fabulously long.

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Impact Hub Torino (Turin, in English) is one of the newest in Impact Hub network.  Hub Storyteller Ann Storr was in the neighbourhood and dropped to learn more about the Hub, how it was designed and experienced severe kitchen envy.

Ann and Marylu

Turin, Piedemont, is in the north-west of Italy; when you fly in or out, you pass ober the Alps and *everyone* peers out of the windows.  Turin has been an industrial city for centuries – the “T” in car makers “fiat” stands for Turin, and its factory is still going strong in the city.  Remember the car chase at the end of the original ‘Italian Job’?  Filmed at Fiat!  As with many economies, industrial and manufacturing sectors declined massively in the late 1960s and 70s.  As you walk around the City, there are a lot of abandoned factories, grass and leaves growing through walls and windows.

The Piedmontese locality (council) is concentrating on social innovation and entrepreneurship to help regenerate this part of the city.  The Hub is located in a development called Incet, a collection of repurposed factories brought to new life.  Businesses there include a café called Edit, which stands for “eat drink innovate together”.  Which sounds like impact Hub Brixton all over.  Turin is also the home of the Slow Food Movement (its conference was in full swing when I was there), so the city seems to value new projects with an interesting vision.

The Hub was founded by Marilù Sansone and Laura Cosa; Marliù had spent time in Hub Amsterdam, so she knew what she wanted to achieve: a light and airy space, with dedicated area for quiet work, places to talk and a wonderful kitchen to enable Hubbers to enjoy chatting, cooking and eating together.  And, good god they have achieved this: light pours into the Hub through a glass ceiling and huge windows on either side of the space.  “Natural light is so important to us, and we only use electric when it’s really dark” she told me.  Heaven.

The hotdesking space is monastically quiet, with chat discouraged (2 muting booths and a phone room were installed to enable conversation).  To Marylù, quiet space is imperative “visitors always tell us how they love the quiet”, because it’s so unusual.  It’s not just quiet – it’s the calm of people concentrating.

A meeting room has the most beautiful conference table made from a patchwork of off-cuts from  hexagonal co-working desks.  “We spent the budget on the walls and windows” Marylù explained, “so we asked the carpenter to take the off-cuts from the desks to make this!”.  The training desk is beautiful.  The different shapes bring movement to the room because each section is made from between 3 and 6 pieces of wood.  The natural lines of the wood and irregular shapes catch and reflect the light in the way a standard wood or lino covered desk couldn’t ever do.  The grain of each panel would be moved to make best fit, further adding to the texture and feel of the piece.  Also: irregular shapes make for natural gaps for cables, essential for freelancer meetings.

The kitchen is your place to chat.  The small community of about 30 Hubbers share breakfast and lunch, sitting around a stunning concrete and wooden table.  Cooking and good food is intrinsic to Italian culture, so the architects were tasked to create a space where natural interactions could happen.  There’s a long counter with a sink big enough to wash armfuls of greens (or soak a burned roasting tin), a hob, an oven, and loads of space for chopping.  The espresso machine uses  artisanal coffee from a Piedmontese roaster, to further increase links with the local food  community.

The community is new and growing; three businesses have offices for digital marketing and web development. It’s an exciting time and the Hub is hosting innovative sessions on social business and creativity.  It was very interesting to see how the Impact Hub vision is different in Turin, and great to know that I could stop in and find a base, so far from home. So Hubbers, whenever you travel, don’t be shy – drop in at the local Hub and make the most out of this beautiful, global, network that we are part of.

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by Yaa Aba Acquaah

This year commemorated the 70th anniversary of Windrush — often the name given to the period of time from the late 1940s to early 1970s, during which it is estimated over half a million migrants traveled from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom, primarily from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean islands. This migration was in response to the British government’s invitation to fill labour shortages and rebuild the United Kingdom after World War II. In addition to their working hands and skills, migrants brought with them their creative minds, natural ambition and unbreakable spirits.

Perhaps no city better exemplifies the impact of the Windrush generation than London — an undeniable hub of diversity and multiculturalism. The Brixton area of south London in particular became home to many of these Windrush families. Thanks to its Afro-Caribbean heritage, Brixton has become known as one of the most vibrant, multicultural areas of London.

Since 1987, the United Kingdom has recognised the month of October as Black History Month. Coinciding with this month-long focus, Jen B., coordinator at Impact Hub Brixton, came up with the idea to host the first Black History Market, in Jen’s words, as an “inspiring showcase of black businesses . . . representing entrepreneurs from across the African and Caribbean diaspora.” From luxury handmade crafts, such as those showcased by Fabric of Africa Frames, and vegan eats to natural hair and skin care products, attendees experienced just a glimpse of what makes the African and Caribbean diaspora so rich.

I had the pleasure to speak with several of the vendors to learn more about their brands. For example, I met Patrick Adom, who launched his brand Very Puzzled, in part from the desire to be able to provide his daughter with toys and other items that were not only entertaining but “also reflective of her [Ghanaian] heritage [in order] to bring her up to be proud of who she is.” With jigsaw puzzles of Africa, its countries and regions as colorful as its people and with key resources, attractions, landmarks and monuments of each area vividly illustrated, I say mission accomplished!

Vendor Cherelle Brown is another example. In the summer of 2017, Cherelle noticed a lack of diversity within the greeting card industry. This prompted Cherelle to form Kitsch Noir, which “supports a movement that celebrates the love and enjoyment of the black British experience.” Cherelle explains that “diversity [is] at the heart” of Kitsch Noir’s vision, and this is demonstrated not only by the figures and messages on Cherelle’s quirky and beautifully illustrated stationary but also by images that specifically honor black British historical figures. Kitsch Noir’s growing recognition is evidenced by its presence on the shelves of top stationary retailers, such as Paperchase. To steal an expression from one of her designs, “Gwarn” girl!

I also met vendor Roxanne-Sasha, director of The Resilient Mum. In her own words, Roxanne-Sasha is an “Independent mother,” who in facing her own experiences raising her daughter developed “a strong desire to reach out to other Independent mothers.” Specifically, through The Resilient Mum, Roxanne-Sasha, “aim[s] to encourage, motivate and inspire other mothers everywhere whilst showing them that with determination and perseverance they can make their dreams a reality.” Roxanne-Sasha’s showcase included her self-authored book, The Resilient Mum, in addition to a Self-Reflection Workbook and various novelty items with uplifting affirmations, among other resources for Independent mums.

Patrick and Cherelle’s ability to build brands in order to address inadequate representation of blacks and black heritage in certain industries, and Roxanne-Sasha’s ability to transform the challenges of being a single mother into a brand that supports not only her mission but also mothers across the world, fully embody the spirit of the African and Caribbean diaspora. In essence, they perfectly exemplify how members of the African and Caribbean diaspora continue to productively face the circumstances in which they find themselves to create better futures for themselves and others, including through entrepreneurship. This sort of grit is at the heart of the brands showcased at the Black History Market.

As an old African proverb reminds us, “There is no beauty but the beauty of action.” Kudos to Jen for putting her vision into action, and to all the fantastic vendors and collaborators, including Impact Hub Brixton, whose action made the first Black History Market possible. Despite the rainy weather, the event was a huge success and very well received by the community.

The event was held Saturday, 6 October 2018 at Impact Hub Brixton.

Given the popularity of the event, Impact Hub Brixton will host Black History Christmas Market on Saturday, 24 November 2018 and Sunday, 25 November 2018, each day from 11AM – 5:30PM and with new traders each day. Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend! Use this link to register – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-history-christmas-pop-up-market-weekend-tickets-51109273212?aff=ebapi.

Written by Yaa Aba Acquaah

Yaa Aba Acquaah is the founder of SeeYaaSoon, a travel-centered brand and blog site. To learn more about Yaa Aba’s brand and travel adventures, visit www.seeyaasoon.com.

IG: @systravels + @ms_acquaah

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Livity is a youth-led creative digital team, engaging in training and projects around London and the UK.  Livity brings together young people and creative enterprises to make beautiful work, babies.  The extra layers of training and access to small and large businesses provides an excellent link that enables the young people to get their next step on the ladder.

A team of four young people involved with Livity – Annie, Tianna, Genevieve and Daniel – have been working with the Hub.   Steph and Rachel have been working on a digital marketing strategy with the Livity team, and we are so grateful for their work.  The team are:

Tianna Greham – Designer

Daniel Obichukwu  – Freelance 3D Generalist

Annie Afrilu (same spelling on all socials) – advertising and digital writing

Genevieve Adeyemi, social media manager & team support

The team!

Check them out!

Hub Storyteller Ann Storr spoke with Annie the Livity X Impact Hub Brixton, and how the training is helping her to create her dream career of singing, record label owning and, ultimately, philanthropy.

I’m a singer songwriter, with plans to start and run my own record label.  After college I needed a day job; I was placed in an executive search agency – basically, headhunting.  This was what I needed to learn all about the real world, about how to learn to talk with executives and hold my own.

The skills I learnt at the agency helped me see what I needed to make my music dreams work – a strong work ethic, diligence, tenacity and courage.  Seeing how high-level business works taught me how to manage my day and time.  I’m grateful for learning skills like how to manage my time and workload – and the consequences that happened if I didn’t.

Through my work I also realised that there are some areas where I needed training. I figured SEO and digital marketing are skills that I need to realise my ambitions, so the next step was finding some good training.  Livity’s offering looked the best, and they were offering 2 day courses on how to be a Digital Marketeer.  This would give me the chance to practice skills and learn SEO.  The collaboration with Impact Hub sounded a perfect fit, especially as I love help people and my long term goal of philanthropy.

The Hub has its niche and who they want to attract as members.  Once we had that info, we could start to build the strategy.   Livity helped us to put the strategy into a clear format.  They’re smashing it, they’re amazing.

Genevieve, Daniel, Tianna and I are experienced in our trades, but working on a project that isn’t your creative baby is so helpful.  Building a strategy for your passion project is hard because you’re attached to every element.    The Impact Hub project is exciting because we believe in the work, but we can play around without worrying so much. This gives us the distance that we need to evaluate success.  We haven’t put the strategy into play yet but we’re all excited to see how it rolls out. And then we take these skills and networks forward to our projects and careers.

The four of us bonded, it was a total meeting of minds.  We’re all invested in progressing our careers and learning.  Rachel and Steph are the same!  This has been an amazing experience, I’m so glad I got involved.

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Christmas is the time of year where we think about those in our communities who could do with our support; Hub Storyteller Ann Storr spoke with Aurora, newest team member of Spiral Skills and learnt all about their latest project. Working in the Building Young Brixton Consortium, Spiral Skills are helping a group of young Brixtonians to plan and host an event that brings people together and challenges the narratives surrounding their communities.

Spiral Skills latest project is a collaboration with Ebony Horse Club and Irmo (Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation).  All three group are part of the BYB Consortium (Building Young Brixton), who are working to help the young people of Brixton to have a brighter and better start in life.

“The young people were briefed to create a community event and they decided to throw “a party in order to bring our young community closer together by helping to overcome the boundaries between us young people”.  Many young people across the BYB and Spiral Skills groups talk about the divisions between group.  They want to do something about narrowing that gap, and this event was the right place.”

“First of all, they needed a theme.  They brainstormed and came up with ideas about activities that they’d like to enjoy, such as drumming, working with paint, live music.  The 2 themes that they decided upon are Colour and Paint. This reflects the positivity and energy of the group and their communities.     Overcoming the reputation of young people, misrepresentation and misjudgement placed upon them through hard work, joy and vibrancy!”

“They worked with their themes to create activities that will get people up on their feet and working together.  Dancing, and spray painting tee-shirts.  We at Spiral are helping by finding professionals who work with the young people to realise their vision – and also make sure that Health and Safety are happy with all the plans, too.  This can be a little bit of a downer for the young people, but it’s an essential part of an event plan.”@

“Of course, they needed money!  The young people had to apply for funding to the consortia.  This may have been one of their biggest challenges.  They pitched to IRMO’s programme manager, and Ebony Horse Club’s Youth Leader.  They had to have an event that was sellable and realistic, and it wasn’t guaranteed that they’d get the money.  They smashed it!”

“Now they had the budget sorted, they needed a venue.  The young people chose Pop because it’s beautiful and it has all the facilities they need for performing.  They want the usual people who visit Pop to see their work, get involved and communicate with them.  Bayo from Pop has been amazingly helpful to the young people and we’re grateful for his time.”

“The young people are in groups, and they are learning how to market the event.  The logistics team have a huge job to do, learning about supply chains, purchasing, lead in times.  The entertainment team is being supported by Liam from School Ground Sounds. Liam is kindly sharing his contacts and helping them to find the right talent.  Learning how to use their budget and understand how to stage manage the entertainment is vital to the success of the event.  They’ve learnt so much and worked so hard, we’re so proud of them.”

The Spiral Skills event will be at Pop Brixton and will be on 9^th December, 2pm-5pm – please head on down and show your support to the young people of Brixton!”

As told to Ann Storr.

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