June & July - Petitions and Peaceful Protests

The summer months are often the key time of year for peaceful protests, the weather is good, voting for new parliament / MP's has taken place in the UK, and new policies that effect the residents of the country or state are being brought in for public debate and reaction. This is the time of year that it is not uncommon to find protests and marches taking place on a weekly basis on a country wide or even global scale.

Why Protest?

Peaceful protests are often a very loud and visual way of getting your view point across whilst also raising public awareness for your cause. Project52 would never ever encourage violence at a protest as while those present may feel very passionate for their cause, we as individuals have a right to our own opinions and this right should be respected as free will / freedom of speech.

A positive example of peaceful protesting and a good use for petitions from recent months was the ones held against the use of Angora, taken from the Angora Rabbit, often in an inhumane manner. Many of the protests against the use of Angora held outside stores that stock Angora products were non violent, entry to the stores was never blocked - a suitable distance was always maintained, and petitions against it had thousands of signatures to show that the residents of the UK did not approve of Angora use. As a result, several shop chains stopped ordering new products made from it after being shown the reality of how it is collected. An internet search engine will give you results displaying how it was collected from the rabbits if you are unaware of this particular issue.

Why use Petitions?

A petition is a document or file on which has a key statement about something the author of the petition would like to change. It is then signed by people who agree with that key statement and are willing to declare that agreement.

Petitions are usually kept at an information table during a protest or march sign up location, or in recent years, are hosted on a specialist site, such as Care2 for example, and then shared through social media, collecting digital signatures, names and addresses for the signatures so that it may be verified if necessary at a later date.

Due to the speed and usage of modern technology today, a petition can often surpass it's signature goal within weeks, making it into a viable legal document that can be utilized as a tool for positive change much faster, resulting in the possibility for a bill to be presented in the law houses around the world in a more suitable time frame than previously done.

During the next two months, Project52 will be presenting petition links of interest to the readers (you) that will have been signed by myself, along with background information where ever possible focusing on the petition itself,  along with lists of dates and locations for protests / marches planned by other groups/causes that may be of interest for the readers of Project52.

Together we are stronger, united we stand. 

I Want To Talk About ..... The Other Faces of Hate Crime

I Want To Talk About .... The Other Faces of Hate Crime - A Project52 investigation

In a change to the usual Q&A features ran by Project52, I chose to draw on my own experiences and produce my own investigation into a subject close to my own heart.

"The Other Faces of Hate Crime"


If you asked any person on the street, most would typically answer that racism is what hate crime is. They would be correct in this, as racism is a form of hate crime, but it is not the only kind. There are hundreds of kinds of discrimination in this world, many of which fall under 'hate crime'. The most predominant after racism are disability, LGBT and sub-culture discrimination. This investigation focuses on the latter two.

In a recent survey held by Project52, the majority of replies came from individuals who were of legal age for gay or lesbian relationships in countries where it is not illegal to be gay. It is unfortunate but there are countries where even the suspicion of being gay could equal a death sentence or prison term. These individuals would also have been active in LGBT or sub-culture lifestyles prior to and post the death of Sophie Lancaster, of whom the charity 'The Sophie Lancaster Foundation' is based upon. It was helpful that the responses came from individuals who were around at this time as they would remember what life was like in the before and after, predominately in the last ten years. 

For myself, as an individual who chose to dress in a manner that reflected my musical preferences, aka sub-culture; goth, rocker, mosher, emo. I remember what it was like to not be able to walk out of my own front door alone without a stranger on the street shouting 'mosher' at me. For wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt or vest top. Hardly exposing or risqué clothing, yet it brought me ridicule for it. I consider myself very, very lucky that nothing worse ever happened to me beyond name-calling, as so many people were not so fortunate. I don't recall it ever happening when I was accompanied by somebody, perhaps that second or third person would put them off doing so for the repercussions.

Eventually I stopped wearing the baggy jeans, so as not to draw that unwanted attention and to be able to fly under the radar of local thugs. Didn't stop me wearing any other items of clothing associated with being a 'goth' or 'mosher', but I would save most of those for nights out with friends. Today my main dress is a mix of trendy, emo and geeky, but as I am in my work uniform 5 days a week, it is rare that I am in the streets of my home town in my own clothes. This, I believe has reduced the incidents that I have suffered myself in recent years.

My own experiences may seem hardly relevant to the topic at hand, but if anyone reading this has no experience of being under distress caused by others for the 'crime' of being yourself, it is important to understand what it can be like for the rest of this piece to make sense to you.

Going back to the results of the Project52 survey, a large percentage of those who did answer are based in the north-west of England, which is where I was born and am still based, and is also where Sophie Lancaster was born, raised, lived and was murdered. This means that they will have an awareness of what went on.

I know some of you who have kept on reading this far will be thinking, "who was Sophie Lancaster? why is she important?" Well, Sophie in many ways was just like me or you. Sophie liked going to the cinema, dying her hair and listening to rock/alternative music, she liked to write and would have gone on to university had she lived.  Sophie would also do all she could to support her friends and loved ones. I do not wish to romanticize the image or idea of Sophie, as that would be against the wishes of The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, as while it was set up in memory of Sophie, it would detract from their main goal and turn her memory into a commodity.  I will add that Sophie was also a friend of a friend whom I met myself once or twice. As time goes on, the details of our conversations do fade away, but I still remember this tiny girl with long dark hair who loved rock music.

The Sophie Lancaster Trust was set up by Sophie's mother, Sylvia Lancaster and supported by Sophie's boyfriend, Rob and closest friends, following her death in August 2007.  Sophie, herself had suffered verbal abuse on several occasions due to the way she dressed and wore her hair, as she was what they called a "mosher". One evening, Sophie was on her way home after a night out with her boyfriend, Rob, when they were attacked by a small group of men for being "moshers". Rob was very badly beaten but survived, but Sophie was kicked to death simply for being herself. Those who took part in the survey by Project52 will be aware of her story, but beyond those individuals, thousands upon thousands will not know what happened or why it is important to teach others to be tolerant and understanding of those who are different to themselves.

The foundation's motto, which uses Sophie's name is "Stamping Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere". Their goal is to have the law changed through out the UK, to have sub-cultures added to the list of hate crime or discrimination, so that any attack for being of a sub-culture would carry a harsher sentence as it would do for racism. It is not hard to spot supporters of the charity as their wristbands, in black with 's.o.p.h.i.e.' printed on them in silver can be easy to spot and recognise. I myself wear mine everyday, and have even had people ask me about it, which is wonderful as raising awareness will always go a long way. Of the three groups that this piece and the survey focussed on, it is in the middle, while still quite young, but has made the biggest impact within the sub-culture community.

The Kaleidoscope Trust was founded in 2011 and was given charity status in 2012, making it a youngster in how long it has been operational, but as it has projects in other countries, it has quite a far outreach. The trust does aim to support LGBT or LGBTQ individuals in countries where it is dangerous to be so, whether that is in public or private. It is important that their goal comes true, for those who worry about immigration, think of it this way: If The Kaleidoscope Trust are successful in their end goal, the amount of people seeking immigration to the UK, USA or Australia would fall as the risk to their life would significantly reduce.

Finally, Stonewall, were founded in 1989, in order to fight a piece of UK legislation, known as section 28, which was against the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools. Namely, to make schools teach pupils that it was wrong to be gay or bi-sexual. They are quite well known in the UK due to their campaigns and lobbying for LGBT rights. A Q&A session with a member of the Stonewall team was published recently here on the Project52 a year blog.

Those who did take part in the survey, as there were 60 of you, will recall that I asked about three charity or support groups, these were The Kaleidoscope Trust, who aim to support LGBT people worldwide, Stonewall, who focus on LGBT in the UK, and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, who do include LGBT in the sub-cultures that they aim to help, making all three interlinked in their goals for all to be free to be who they are inside and out.  

Based on the results, a whooping 85% have suffered some kind of discrimination, whether for being a member of the LGBT community, a sub-culture community or both. For over 50% of those who took part, this is a problem in recent years, but what I find even worse is that for nearly 15% of respondents it is an ongoing problem that has not changed at all in the past ten years to present day.

However, for 25% it appears that life has gotten easier for individuals, whether that is due to being out of school, where bullying can be quite high and into the workplace where there are rules in place to protect staff from discrimination, or if they have moved to more accepting areas is unclear. For those 50% that are still suffering, it is clear that the work done by Kaleidoscope, Stonewall or Sophie Lancaster foundation is far from over.

Verbal abuse is the most predominant form of discrimination, as noted by 77% of those who answered this question in the survey, as well as evident in my own experiences as mentioned earlier. The remainder appear to have suffered some kind of physical assault, such as a punch, beating or mugging, but whether this is more recent or further back in time is unclear.

As a final question, I asked the survey participants if they would step in to help if they saw a case of discrimination happening in front of them, of which I am pleased to say that 88% said  yes they would try to help, most likely by reporting it to the police or by stepping in themselves.

In summary, it is clear that the UK, or even the world at large has a long way to go in becoming more accepting of peoples rights to be individuals, I only hope that it can start now, so that if I was to do this again in another ten years, all my answers would be in the past and not present day. In the meantime, I will continue to wear my s.o.p.h.i.e. band with pride.

For more information or to support the charities mentioned, please visit: http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/
http://kaleidoscopetrust.com/
http://www.stonewall.org.uk/

M.E Awareness Day - May 12th

Today is M.E Awareness Day!

If you don't know much about it, today is a great time to learn just what M.E. means and what you can do to help!

As a dear friend of mine is a sufferer, I'll be spending the day raising awareness and cheering on her fight to stay strong.

http://www.mesupport.co.uk/

Week 19 - choosing your cause

This week, in the run-up to M.E. awareness day on May 12th and BDD awareness day on May 17th, I will be taking to social media to raise awareness for these conditions. If you want to join in, visit the Project52 facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/project52ayear or come find me on twitter! My username is @vegankitten

It is hard to decide which issue is more important than another, is one more important? Are they all equally important? Is there an issue you would like to see raised on Project52? Get in touch!


Take care and look after yourselves.

Guest Blogger: Support BDD day - 17th May 2014 by Roo James.

Hello there readers of this blog.  Pamela has invited me to hijack this blog today.  To make it more piratey, I am typing this wearing an eye patch.

My name is Roo and, among many awesome talents and jobs, I write funny stuff.  Sometimes I even do it on a computer and leave the crayons in their box.  But I am here today to talk about a special event happening on the 17th of this month.  This day is to spread awareness of a mental disorder that affects 1 in 100 people.  It attacks men as equally as women and is not very well known.  Those who have heard of it tend to sadly be misinformed thanks to terrible media coverage.  I am talking about Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

BDD is a disorder where the sufferer believes that they are physically unattractive or deformed to the point of obsession.  Many sufferers find they can't do everyday tasks because they fear being seen or ridiculed.  It breaks their confidence and can lead to depression, agoraphobia, social anxiety, eating disorders, self harm, and suicide.  No one knows exactly how it starts but the most popular theory is the patient is predisposed at birth and then an emotional "trigger" such as bullying, abuse, bereavement, or depression will start off the illness.

BDD gets a lot of negative press.  It is often referred to as "perceived ugliness syndrome" which is offensive because the distress is very real.  It is put down as a lack of confidence rather than a disorder and gets thrown in with plastic surgery addiction and eating disorders. It is something only Supermodels and Hollywood stars get according to magazines. The truth is BDD is actually a form of Obsessive Compulsive disorder.  With OCD, the sufferer will do certain actions such as excessive cleaning to control their environment and not being able to do so causes deep distress.  With BDD, the control happens with the body of the sufferer.  Excessive showering, cosmetics, dieting/over-eating, exercise, skin picking, etc.

BDD sufferers can't just get over it.  To ask a BDD sufferer to just deal with it is like asking someone to hold their breathe for ten years.  It just won't happen.  Not without serious help.  Treating BDD is very difficult.  For a start, it is hard to diagnose and can be mistaken for other illnesses like despression.  Also, many sufferers feel too ashamed to come forward, thinking they are being selfish or they really are ugly.  Secondly (is that even a word?), it is not a common illness and as such, not everywhere has the facilities and training to deal with it.  Lastly, every sufferer is different.  While Cognitive Behavior Therapy and anti depressants are the most popular forms of treatment, each sufferer will react differently and what works for one may not work for another. .

There are charities trying to change this.  BODY for example has been set up for sufferers of BDD as well as those with eating disorders.  They educate people about BDD, offer sufferers a place to get help, and visit schools to teach children about positive body image.  They are funded by people like you and me and they are small but with help and support, they can reach so many people.  Years ago, it was much harder to get help.  I know because I was one of those people looking for help and coming up with nothing.

I suffered BDD from very young childhood.  Yes, you read that right.  I was only a child.  I was not diagnosed until my late teens and getting help was a struggle.  I could not afford to see my closest specialist who was 200 miles away. My doctors tried but it was much like throwing carrots at a guinea pig.  Not that they like that, don't do it.  They tend to get upset.  I had to look for my own treatment program and while I have its butt pretty much kicked, it never goes away.  It sits on the door step, drinking the milk if you bother to still have it delivered and waiting for a chance to get back in.  That is the case for many and that is why it is so important that people like you help.  You can help by supporting charities like BODY.  You can help by educating your children or younger siblings about positive body image.  You can help by writing to MPs and asking for more funding into research and training for dealing with BDD patients.

For more information about BDD and BODY, visit their website.

If you would like to really make me suffer, please sponsor me on a 5k Canix run for BODY here.

Want to contact Roo James?  Fans, agents, and Nigerian Princes can contact her here.

Picture by Meghan Murphy, courtesy of Roo James.  Copyright 2012 -2014.

Week 15 - on the spot

This saturday, I shall be attending the LABL vegan fair in Liverpool, UK

As many of the major animal charities as well as a few smaller, not so well known ones, will be there, it is the perfect time to make on the spot donations and inquiries into what Project52 can do for them.

I am hoping that some of the new business cards for Project52 will have arrived by then, so that I can take the opportunity to help the fanbase grow and raise even more awareness for the causes documented and supported by us.

There is an updated Feed Burner account for Project52, for subscribers, which can be found here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/project52ayear

a new email address (in case some of you have been trying to get in touch but had problems) : project52ayear@gmail.com

and of course, our facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/project52ayear

I am also pleased to announce that Project52 can now offer 10% off for all new customers to Moo print (who are making our cards!) http://www.moo.com/share/thwdmy

Homeless Animals - How to reduce the numbers out there

Create Infographics

Spotlight on.... The Foxton Centre

The Foxton Centre, based in Preston, UK is a very special organisation indeed. They run projects and programs aimed at helping children and teens in the community; teaching new skills to those who are at risk; outreach projects, known as Streetlink, for street sex workers (something that many groups who aim to help those on the street shy away from) and finally drop in centre for the homeless, skills workshops for the homeless and a mentoring scheme to help ensure those sleeping rough can develop the means to get themselves out of that cycle and stay out of it, for good. Simply just these actions alone make The Foxton Centre and the work they do worth highlighting and celebrating for creating real positive change for the people who live and work in the town of Preston.

I interviewed Shirah Bamber, who works in marketing and communications at The Foxton Centre for more information on the work done by the staff and volunteers at The Foxton Centre.

With thanks to Ms. Bamber

As March is 'help the homeless' month over at Project52, could you describe what services The Foxton Centre offers in aid or support of the homeless?

The Foxton Centre offers various services to homeless & vulnerably housed adults. Our largest project, Community Café http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/community-cafe/, provides a hot meal for £1 (although vouchers are provided for people who are rough sleeping), shower, laundry, telephone and IT facilities, as well as social activities and a high level of support from our team of Community Social Workers.  Through the Café we provided 3004 meals in 2013.

We are currently running a campaign called Hungry which allows patrons in local cafés Ravenous & Café Fresch to donate £1 and purchase a meal for a homeless person. This campaign has been running since July 2013 and has already provided over 700 meals.

Other Projects provided for rough sleepers & vulnerably housed adults:
Our Wet Garden http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/wet-garden/, has been developed to break down barriers when working with established street drinkers
 The Assertive Outreach Team (http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/assertive-outreach/) go out a number of times a week during the day & fortnightly in the wee hours of the morning.

Finally, our GreenFingers Allotment Project http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/foxton-projects/greenfingers-allotment-project/ has been developed by a team of volunteers & service users to develop life skills, encourage community involvement and improve health and well being.

It currently costs us £2000 per week to provide these services.

The Foxton Centre has existed in Preston for over 40 years. During this time it will have seen many changes to the services it offers and the lives of those who make use of The Foxton Centre. At present the centre has several projects in the running including Safelink, which is aimed at supporting at risk young people, StreetLink, which offers support to street sex workers, and Amity befriending, which offers support to the presently or former homeless. Are there any plans to add to the current list of projects run by The Foxton Centre?  

We increase our projects as the needs present themselves. Just last year we saw a 23% increase in the number of service users attending the Community Café, which caused us to develop the Hungry campaign. We increased our projects from 10 to 13 in the last 12 months and are currently working at capacity.

In the document "Street Sex Workers in Preston: An Evidence-Based Study" It was suggested that a Foxton Centre Charity shop could be set up to help those who take part in the StreetLink project to gain current work experience and to raise self-esteem amongst the workers. Have there been any further developments on this idea or is it still at proposal stage? 

At present it is only an idea. As with many ideas they can take a long time to come into fruition through the simple reality that we are incredibly busy with the projects and service user base we are already working with and taking on a shop would be a large commitment of time and resources.
The study can be found at: http://www.thefoxtoncentre.co.uk/content/information/publications-resources/

The Foxton Centre [appears to] rely on a mixture of public donations, local business support for the free meal voucher schemes and national lottery funding besides making use of physical object donations. As we're now in Spring and heading into summer, does the list of requested physical donated items change at all with the seasons?

You are right, we are funded through a mixture of funding bodies (including the Big Lottery, but also Comic Relief, Children in Need, Esme Fairhurst, to name just a few) and local donations of money and supplies.

There are some requirements that stay the same all year round, such as toiletry items (soap, shampoo, disposable razors, etc) and others change with the seasons (ie. Sunscreen, winter coats, etc).

As we go further into 2014 are there any changes you hope to see at The Foxton Centre, whether that is an increase in projects or services offered, or an increase in public donations and support of The Foxton Centre itself... what would those be?

This year my personal goal at The Foxton Centre is to develop formal partnerships with local businesses. We began 2014 with a strong new partnership with Magma Digital and hope that the year will continue as it began!

We are also getting ready to host our 2nd Annual Evening Fundraiser at St. John, The Minster (on Church Street), which is an evening of live entertainment, 2 course meal and complimentary glass of wine for £25, and hope that this year we will attract a wider audience of supporters.


And finally, is there anything you would like to ask of the readers of this interview to do in the future, either towards those who attend The Foxton Centre or vulnerable individuals at large in the world?  

There are so many ways to help vulnerable people, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. We try to make it easy for you, and I’m certain that charities in other areas would be happy to discuss potential ideas if you live elsewhere. What can seem like a little thing to you can make such a difference in someone’s life.

Some of the ways people like to get involved with us is through donating to our Hungry campaign, donating an hour or two of expertise, becoming a regular (or occasional!) volunteer, attending our fundraising events or organizing an office fundraiser such as a bake sale, or casual day. It doesn’t need to be big or complicated to have an impact.

Thank you to Shirah for taking part in the interview and thank you to all of the staff and volunteers at The Foxton Centre for all your hard work, time and dedication from myself and on behalf of the readers of Project52 blog. 

Week 9 - Girls Love Mail

This week I'm taking part in 'Girls Love Mail'

'Girls Love Mail' is a breast cancer support letter writing program created by Gina M. Mulligan of California, USA.  The goal of 'Girls Love Mail' is to write letters of support and well wishes to women who have recently been diagnosed as having breast cancer. As the letters can be sent as little as once ever, or as regular as once a week!

For more information, or to take part, please visit: http://www.girlslovemail.com/

NB: The sign up option does say ZIP but it will accept UK postal codes! Hurrah!


I do also have a request to make of the readers of Project52, besides hoping that you will join me in this week's activity. As those of you who follow the Project52 facebook page, which can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/project52ayear ,will know that each month at Project52 has a theme. I am currently collecting research for May's features. If any of you would like to take part or contribute to May's features, which will be looking at LGBT related charities/support groups, The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and other charities that aim to help those who have suffered from discrimination or hate crime. As part of this research, an online question has been produced. If you would like to take part in the questionaire, it can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W6WKJ62

February - reach out and write!

February - Write to those you love or like or those who you want to make a change / support 

•  Unknown to many people, there are several not-for-profit companies and groups whose goal is to provide support for those who are suffering from cancer. One of these groups is called 'Chemo Angels' where the 'Angel' (person who has signed up to the scheme) sends cards and letters to a patient who has cancer by way of support, cheering them up etc. I did this myself last year. Anybody who signs up is usually paired with somebody who has the same religious view point and lives in the same country - to make it easier to send letters on a regular basis. For more information, please visit http://chemoangels.wix.com/chemo-angels-1/ 

• February in certain circles is also the month of the letter writing challenge, to encourage people to write letters instead of texting or emailing. The goal is to write one letter a day. So instead of texting a friend to see if they want coffee next week, send them a charming note card instead. Found a product you really like? then send a letter to the company telling them how much you like it. Angry about a change in laws or want to make a change in your constituency? then write to your local MP and tell them about it. If you are interested in this challenge, please register at: http://lettermo.com/     

                                        The Pen is Mightier than the Sword