Minutes of GENERAL MEETING on Wednesday 11th September 2019 at Gwernyfed RFC at 6.30pm
The meeting started with a cake and celebration of HBTSR's 4th Birthday. Tribute was paid to the founding members as well as celebrating our
existing strength as a group.
1 Apologies Mac and Erica McCarthy , Carola Tipton, Pierre Moulinier,Ruth Redmond Cooper, Jonnie Hill, Trish Fretten, Liz Jenkins, Brenda Charlwood, Christina Resch, Val Bradley,Robert East, Trevor lee, Neil Jones, William Powell. Sally and Colin McColl
2 Attendance, Lawrence Duffy, Margaret and Pat Blake, Adil Gatrid, Mike Gatehouse, Claire Armstrong, Melrose East, Janet Bodily, Shaun O'Boyle, Lynne Rogers, Philip Oliver, Sue Richards, Andrew and Penny Leonard, Jeff Beatty, Ailsa Dunn, Barbara and Reg Price, Val Fraser, Tim Butler, Virginia Brown
3 minutes of last meeting Accepted
and matters arising Dealt with in Chairman's Update
declaration of any conflicts of interest -None
4 Update from the Chair
1Pool table and table football delivered to Unity in Diversity and we have heard that they are being very well used. And the next challenge is to take a table tennis table to Oasis Cardiff. Thanks to Jonnie, Tim and Val for deliveries of these.
2 no progress on Festival of sanctuary
3 take away bags - no individual bags given from Brecon but a large box of donations was sent back on the coach - Mark reports that this was very helpful and he felt it was fairer. Also had a meeting in Brecon with Swansea volunteers to discuss finding participants and equity of access and sharing.
Agreed we will send donations via Drop ins to share with as many as possible. To go on the coach. or volunteers cars whenever possible.
4 bus passes - since the last meeting we have had 6 requests for payment to enable people to access courses and also had to find out the official line about bus pass subsidy for asylum seekers at Gower college. This is that asylum seekers under 19 are eligible for a free bus pass and over 19 can buy a subsidised pass if enrolled on a full time course. The subsidised pass is still £270 for the academic year.
We heard from Wayne that this official line in writing from a manager in student finance has made it easier to access the passes. I have drawn attention to the fact that this is still un- affordable for many and the re will be an additional problem next ear that they propose that the passes will be digital. Many peole seeking asylum do not have smart phones... Our AM is considering how much the cost of transport may prevent people from accessing education.
This was discussed at length - including the fact that Lawrence has had to pay much of the money personally until he can receive money back from HBTSR due to tight time schedules.
Agreement 1 the Trustees will take on board peoples views and try to come up with some criteria to help guide discussions next year about HBTSR funding bus passes
2 we will ask Wayne and Maria to help us when we look at criteria
3 we will ask that all requests are passed via people such as Wayne or Maria,[ Swansea] Mark and Sarah [Newport] so we can achieve some consistency of approach.
4 ideas suggested ,a/ On full time course that might not be able to attend if didn't have a bus pass. b/ Mobilty issues or personal circumstances eg children needing to go to school meaning the person couldn't walk or cycle and be there in time. c/ distance from college d/ consider of pay part of pass so the money can be shared around more e/ ask for a termly report on progress from recipient.
Suggest in future years that we would not spend more than £2000 on bus passes. Also Mike is considering an application to an educational trust to help fund this.
5 Constitution altered to give a quorum of 10.
6 risk assessments carried out for 2 welcome days and have been helpful in drawing attention to obvious hazards. This should also help us in the event of a problem arising on a day.
7 Big Skill in Hay was attended and over 80 signatures for Lift the Ban on Working Petition and raised £50.
8 Side by Side with Refugees concert was a great success and well attended. Money was raised for both Side by Side with Refugees and HBTSR. John was thanked for arranging this and may arrange another.
9 Concert in Hay was postponed. Pierre given details of some asylum seeking drummers.
10 monies sent to Help for refugees, Safe passage and SASS as agreed last meeting.
11 Bank Fraud. The money was repaid but the bank do not propose to investigate further. Lawrence is checking the account weekly and will see if he can set up on line banking so he can review this more easily and also pay urgent monies by bank transfer from HBTSR rather than his personal account.
12 The email we sent to all candidates in the by-Election was only responded to by The Labour and Liberal Democrat Candidates. Both gave very helpful , empathetic answers and these are on our website and facebook page. The election was won by Jane Dodds who worked for the Refugee Council for 6 years. Letters sent congratulating her and commiserating with the Labour Candidate.
5 Public Meeting Date agreed 15th November - speakers - Kirsty Williams, A sanctuary seeking person via Swansea City of Sanctuary , Margaret and Possibly a man who works for ACH in Bristol [Refugee integration and employment services]
and awards. Scout Hut, Alex, Stuart our regular bus driver and Bluebird coaches, Ceilidh band, Llwyn Celyn, Watton Allotments, POwys County Council agreed that we would start as a matter of course giving a certificate to hosting venues as if they display it then it acts as publicity.
a] other talks... Irene Sriharan who is a Barrister specialising in cases from Sri Lanka has offered to come to Brecon to share her insights and expertise about how the asylum system works. Agreed that we would like to hear her and have the chance to ask questions and more importantly ask people seeking asylum to come. We would like to hold this as an afternoon event on a Saturday and invite Local solicitors, Political representatives, our friends in Swansea and Newport including people seeking asylum and our supporters. May need to have a free ticket system so we have an idea of numbers.
Seek a venue with adequate seating and a stage area. [Andrew will discuss with Theatre- Ailsa approach town council re guildhall.
6 Policies- progress with risk assessment. Melrose shared details of the risk assessment and how it had worked in Brecon and Trefonnen. important to share at meetings if any incidents arose and any near misses.
Agreed we would also look at what were the residual risks after mitigation and ensure that we are happy to accept these. Adil will discuss this further with Melrose.
A risk that was discussed was of people wandering off to explore the area. We have to accept that if they are adult then they are entitled to go where they wish so long as it is legal. We need to be clear about the boundaries of our responsibility [ eg in our hall, on our walk etc] and ensure that they know the time the bus is leaving.
updated welcome days how to guide
Safeguarding training On 17th September at 6.30 in Gwernyfed RFC - policies here and here
7 Welcome days
July 13th Talgarth
Sunday August 18th Brecon. no untoward incidents
Future dates of respite days -
8th September Trefonnen School- for Syrian families. A successful day that took considerable planning and was a little fraught due to people coming on 3 buses from different places and also some from Llandrindod itself. We need to ensure that we have a mobile phone number for someone who is coming with the transport. Jeff commented upon the problem they had in Hereford in liaising with the Syrian families and that he had heard that the day was a success. Very grateful to Trefonnen School for hosting, a warm welcome and hard work and to The Herb Garden cafe for delicious food.
28th September Craig y nos - Coordinator Coordinator Melrose East melrosemeast@gmail.com. Please offer help with catering.We need salads and fruit and help on the day.
October 12th Bronllys coordinator Sue Richards Music Crafts and a walk planned and have had some food offers.
sueandgezrichards@yahoo.co.uk Please offer help
Penpont 24th November
January Hay school date to be agreed
February Llangorse ditto
March Cradoc School ditto
April Llangynidr ditto
Easter 10-13 April ,Ramadan 23rd April to 23rd May
May ? Llwyn Celyn ? penpont
Hay festival 21st to 31st may
June Talybont ? penpont
July ? Talgarth
August ? Brecon
September ? Treberfydd
October
NB Please do offer to help to coordinate a day if you'd like to -there is always a lot of support available.
other activities
A holiday cottage- Nothing new to report except that Rowland was recognised for his generosity by Swansea City of Sanctuary who presented him with a Holiday House of Sanctuary award.
B Bikes- A number have been sent over the summer and Newport now have some storage space separate from the hall.
C Courts support- let Ailsa know if you'd like to help befriend people who are going to court or home office interview
D other activities - Christina has restarted the knitting group and this will meet on Wednesday evenings 6.30 to 8.30 and for details please contact her on ChristinaResch1@gmx.at .or 07478 671754
Sue commented that some beautiful knitted items from Christina and group were taken to SHARP today by Val and Tim.
9 Fundraising - Side by Side with Refugees Concert raised £334, Big Skill £50, selling surplus toys raised £55 Llangorse hall coffee morning raised £145
b stalls
'Patti Promfest' Saturday 21st September 2-4pm. Penny is happy to coordinate this and has names of people who have offered to help [Alma, Gerard and Janet so far} . Janet has further teddies ready. Andrew asked about Public liability funding as this is a requirement of the organisers. We may see if we can share shelter..[ Trustees will meet to discuss this further]
Information boards still in Library.
We will have a raffle again over December and January.
10 Hardship fund expenditure details-
Hardship requests since last meeting.
July 6 Wayne asked for bus pass for R £270
July 6 Money given specifically for a bus pass for H
July 19 Maria asked for Vaccum cleaner - bought for £60 including bags
July 30 Newport Lap top and barbering equipment for UASC - £350
July 30th Transport for Dr to attend medical English tuition £100
15 August Newport Artist for materials £75
22 August Swansea via Play worker and Maria money for bus fares for 2 high school children and for school meals [ section 4 may not be eligible for free transport - paid £236 but Kirsty looking into this as a priority]
Sept 2 Swansea Thanu asked about 3 bus passes I, O & N £ 810
Sept 2 Swansea Tom asked about Pass for Z £270
Sept 6 Wayne asked Laptop for H £150
Newport request to help support an Iranian man recently granted Refugee status to attend a course that should help him gain work. £250
school uniform requests- paid £100 - the uniform grants were not applicable as the children were not the correct ages for this. SASS have looked at all usual sources of funding for school uniforms. ** see below
Also EYST hardship fund have spent the £200 that we gave them and provided feedback on some -eg new family with no money given £20. Lost aspen card given £10. Bus ticket to dentist £10, Bus for family to do Biometrics £30, Destitute for food £10, New to Swansea no money £15.
Agreed to Send further £200 to EYST as this provides absolutely essential support.
Agreed with Lawrence that he would alert Hardship group if the balance in the overall account is below £5000 and ask Trustees for guidance on payment.
11 Finance income and expenditure - Income of £1945 via donations, standing orders, Book sales [ £140] and fundraising. Generous cheque from Christ college from a collection at school. Expenditure of £3616 on transport, Hardship cases, some food and craft stuff at Trefonnnen.
balance is still reasonable
12 Goods - supermarkets - nil
store users and transport group. Val and Tim took a large load to SHARP today, The store is quite full and Sue will explore if we can take items that are suitable for Refugee camps to another venue in Caldicott. We have had a lot of donations over the summer and with SHARP closed for much of August it was hard to store everything.
13 Syrian family resettlement. there are now 3 families in Llandrindod and several new families in Ystradgynlais. We will alert via the Support workers the families in Ystrad about the day at Craig Y Nos.
14 Publicity- Twitter 816 followers Admin by Maria Duggan @hbts4refugees. Facebook 570 members -admin Steve Buzza and Ailsa Dunn- Instagram - Admin Alex Benfield. 3 email mailings to 458 members . press releases about Talgarth day and Brecon day and Mikes helpful letter about 9/11 was shared with B&R and other papers.
15 lobbying. Petition sent to Lift the Ban coalition with over 200 signatures.
If you've not already taken these actions please do so.
A lift the ban on working here B Detention b End indefinite detention Liberty here c Detention Action here c women for refugee women here d Amnesty International here e Freedom from torture here
C destitution Join the campaign to call on the Government to deliver dignity, not destitution, for asylum seekers. Briefing here take action here D let refugees learn Learning English is so important to help with integration. here E ask the government for a kinder and fairer immigration system here and here and here. F support a welcoming Europe here
F Some up-to- date facts here
16 Any other business Trustees will meet to consider public and personal liability and draft criteria for bus passes.
Dates of next meetings .
Wednesday 9th October
Wednesday 13th November
Wednesday 15th January AGM and General meeting.
**School uniform funding as investigated by SASS
state/council help is the ‘Pupil Development Grant’, which is for pupils entitled to free school meals. And that excludes some asylum seekers: people on Section 4 (see this article). However, schools do have discretion…
Second-hand Uniform recycling project “ABC123”:
Yvonne Jardine - cllr.yvonne.jardine@swansea.gov.uk
01792 712888 / 01792 966980
Unit 12, St David’s Shopping Centre (Monday-Friday, 9.30-4.30)
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WELSH GOVERNMENT “Pupil Development Grant” - £125 a year for uniform and kit at certain ages (£200 in year 7) – for learners who are eligible for free school meals. For details contact the local authority - Swansea council. See: https://www.swansea.gov.uk/schooluniformgrant
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And IN CASE YOU MISSED It
The other 9/11
Many people have forgotten that 11 September was already a tragic anniversary many years before 2001, in a place at the opposite end of the globe. On that day, in 1973, I awoke in Santiago, Chile, where I was then living and working, to the sound of explosions. I looked out of my window to see lines of soldiers, guns in hand, advancing towards the government offices and presidential palace in the centre of the city.
This was the advanced guard of a military coup, headed by General Pinochet, which would remove a democratically elected government and usher in a brutal 17-year military dictatorship. All political parties were banned, the electoral registers burned, universities purged and books, including my own, burned. At least 3,000 people were killed or disappeared, and some 200,000 Chileans forced into exile.
Some of these exiles came to Britain as refugees and settled in towns and cities from Aberdeen to Truro. Local voluntary groups organized to help them settle, find and furnish accommodation for them, provide English language classes, schools for their children and, later on, jobs. The British government funded a generous scholarship programme for Chileans to study in UK universities and throughout the UK local authorities provided housing and education support. Trade unions adopted hundreds of Chilean political prisoners and, on their release, welcomed them to Britain.
While many returned to Chile after 1990, when the dictatorship ended, others (especially those who arrived as children or were born here) stayed on and have contributed greatly to British society. In Wales, the head of the award-winning Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team (EYST), Rocio Cifuentes, is herself daughter of Chilean refugees. Founded in Swansea, EYST now helps refugees and asylum seekers in Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham.
In 2019, people across the UK, including many in Wales, and all of us in Hay, Brecon & Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees, continue to recognise the incalculable benefits that accrue to us as human beings, members of families, churches, schools, work places and professions, when we give help and friendship to those less fortunate than ourselves, especially those driven from their own homes and countries by war, political persecution, poverty and, increasingly, by climate change.
So, on September 11 let’s remember that and redouble our efforts.
Mike Gatehouse 09/09/2019
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