News in Brief
Don’t suffer in silence
Help is at hand for people experiencing domestic violence or hate crimes.
Residents can get confidential advice and counselling at surgeries run by the Council’s domestic violence and hate crime team. The drop-in sessions offer help with any kind of harassment, violence or abuse based on somebody’s sexuality, gender, ethnic origin, colour, race, religion or nationality.
Research suggests that one in four women experiences domestic violence in her life. It can take the form of physical, sexual or psychological abuse. Hate crime may not involve violence – it can include anything from verbal abuse to offensive material through the letter box, to harassment and nuisance behaviour such as door knocking and noise.
Cllr Alan Laing, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said:
“This kind of behaviour is a criminal offence, but too many of these crimes go unreported. Nobody should have to suffer in silence. The surgeries provide a safe, non-judgemental place where people will be heard in absolute confidence and helped to regain control over their life.”
No action is taken unless the individual agrees. Sessions are open to anybody living, working or studying in Hackney and can cater for different languages. Surgeries are held twice a month at neighbourhood offices in Homerton, Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill, Queensbridge and Shoreditch. You can make an appointment through your housing manager or simply turn up. For more information call: 0800 056 0905.
Search for young talent
Young designers are being challenged to create a new logo for the London 2012 education programme.
The national competition for 16 to 21-year-olds in full or part-time education was launched at Hackney Community College by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG). Entrants are asked to create a new design to fill in the London 2012 Olympic logo, in the same way the Union Jack was used during the handover at the end of the Beijing 2008 Games.The closing date for entries is 5 June.
Find out more at: www.london2012.com/logocompetition Meanwhile, young people aged 16 to 18 are being offered the chance to apply for a job through LOCOG’s school leaver employment programme Get Ahead.
It’s searching for 10 new recruits from across the country to fill permanent posts in areas such as legal, marketing, communications, venues, sport, culture, education, human resources and operations teams.Deadline for application is 12 April. To find out more about the scheme and the application and assessment process visit: www.london2012.com/getahead
On the march
Residents are invited to watch a parade on 29 March to celebrate Hackney’s only Territorial Army (TA) unit being granted the Freedom of the Borough.
Members of 3 Military Intelligence Battalion (Volunteers), based in Worship Street, Shoreditch, were awarded the honour by the Council last year.
They will march along Reading Lane, Mare Street, Morning Lane and Valette Street as part of a ceremonial parade, causing a brief hold-up for traffic from 11am to 11.30am. Then a short presentation will take place in the Town Hall Square.
The Reading Lane junctions with Mare Street and Hillman Street will be closed off between 9am and 2pm, and cyclists on the path from Reading Lane will be asked to dismount as they near the Square. It is anticipated there will be some disruption in the Hackney central area caused by the temporary road closures during the parade.
For a full report of what promises to be a very colourful event, see your next edition of Hackney Today.
Not just the bare minimum
A campaign to raise awareness of the increased National Minimum Wage has reached thousands of Hackney residents.
A roadshow at Ridley Road Market last month attracted nearly 3,000 people, while Hackney’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Karen Alcock, as well as Cllrs Guy Nicholson and Linda Smith, attended to support the campaign.
Cllr Alcock said: “I am pleased that so many residents found out about the National Minimum Wage at the roadshow. It is a national standard of employment rights, and staff and employers should find out more about the new, increased rates if they haven’t already done so.”
Information on the National Minimum Wage is available at leisure centres, libraries, police stations and Council reception areas. A borough-wide poster campaign to draw attention to the issue is being run jointly by the Council and Team Hackney, the local strategic partnership.
The National Minimum Wage is £5.73 per hour for workers aged 22 and over, £4.77 for 18 to 21-year-olds, and £3.53 for those aged 16 and 17.
Anyone not being paid the new rates can report their employer confidentially to the National Minimum Wage helpline: 0845 6000 678 (Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm). For more info visit: www.direct.gov.uk/nmw
Keeping you up to date on community safety
New bi-monthly local newsletters telling residents about policing and community safety in their area are set to be delivered with the next edition of Hackney Today on 23 March.
The Safer Hackney newsletters, are published jointly by the police and Council, with funding from Team Hackney. Crime in Hackney has fallen by nearly a third in just four years, while violent crime has fallen by nearly 13 per cent in one year.
But surveys show that residents are still concerned about crime and anti-social behaviour, and want to be kept in touch with what is being done to combat this, and how they can help.
The first editions of the newsletters will cover the western half of the borough, but they will be rolled out to the whole of Hackney by this summer.
If you have a local story that you would like featured in the newsletters, email: jennifer.riley@hackney.gov.uk
There’s nothing like our dame
The borough’s favourite panto dame was in line to win a second Olivier Award as Hackney Today went to press.
Clive Rowe was nominated for his performance as Mother Goose in the Hackney Empire’s production last Christmas.
The awards, which were due to take place on 8 March at the Grosvenor House Hotel in central London, are theatre’s equivalent of the Oscars.
Clive was up against two productions from the Royal Court Theatre, SW1, in the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre award.
In the seven years he’s been playing at the Empire, Clive has cultivated a loyal local following who turn out in force to see him camp up his dramatic chops.
He already has one Olivier under his belt for his turn as Nicely Nicely Johnson in the National Theatre’s 1997 revival of Guys and Dolls. To find out if he bagged his second gong visit: www.olivierawards.co.uk.
26 years for teen’s murderer
The killer of Stoke Newington teenager Etem Celebi has been jailed for life.
Richard Harrison-Allen, 20, of Iveagh Close, E9, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 26 years in prison by St Albans Crown Court on 26 February.
Harrison-Allen shot the 17-year-old in the back in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity following a dispute with another youth on the Smalley Close estate.
During Harrison-Allen’s trial, the court heard the November 2007 murder of Etem, who was a semi-professional footballer for Leyton Football Club, was sparked by rivalry between two Hackney gangs.
Judge Phillip Clegg said: “Etem was not even a member of a gang. He was a very well-liked young man. He was only 17 and was very excited because only that day he had got an interview as a lifeguard at the local swimming pool.
“You will never understand the utter devastation you have caused to his family and his friends.”
Tackling foul behaviour
Dog owners who use the borough’s parks and public spaces are being urged to clean up after their pets or face a stiff fine.
Irresponsible owners who don’t pick up their dog’s mess are in breach of the Dog Fouling Control Order, adopted by the Council last year, meaning they could face a Fixed Penalty Notice of £80.
The Council’s Environmental Enforcement Team spent three days promoting responsible dog ownership last month.
During a joint dog fouling and litter enforcement action day on 24 February, three owners were issued with £80 fines for breaching the order. In addition, 12 people were caught dropping litter and issued with £80 fines.
Dog faeces carries the Toxocara canis worm infection. Humans who come into contact with infected faeces can suffer severe illness affecting organs including the eyes, which can cause blindness.
In another bid to help clean up Hackney’s parks, a new FIDO canine faeces collection vehicle will soon be in operation across the borough. The driver will carry dog faeces collection bags and hand out information to the public to help raise awareness of the issue. The Council is also urging residents to report areas where there is a lot of dog fouling.
For info or to report a problem call: 020 8356 3000 or email: info@hackney.gov.uk.
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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