April 2023 Update


Hiya! 

Hope you’re all doing well! Just a quick newsletter with a few updates. 

First, we’ll be opening up the solidarity fund at midday on Saturday 29th April. You can apply from 12pm using this form. For more information about the fund please head to our website.  

Second, the monthly coffee morning will be at the Advocacy Academy (5-7 Vining Street, SW9 9QS) between 11-1 on Saturday 6th May! We’re hoping to invite more mutual aid and community groups to give talks, show films and bring discussions. If you are part of a local community group, mutual aid crew, activist organisation in south London (especially Lambeth!) please get in touch with us!

We’re also hoping to use this time to discuss the future of the fund, exploring different possibilities (i.e. do we move to a lottery system, how do we raise more money, do we carry on with £50 grants or change that amount). If you have ideas or opinions please let us know, and feel free to come along to the coffee morning!! We’d love to have as many people involved in making the decisions around the fund – especially if you’ve received money. For us this is the fundamental difference between mutual aid and charity – we want everyone to be involved in decision making! 

A few other notes!

Training for Public Sector Workers to support migrants and refugees

Between April and June, anyone working in the public sector can take part in training to gain knowledge and skills to work against the Hostile Environment and in solidarity with migrants and refugees. The training has been developed by members of Solidarity Knows No Borders, a community of migrant justice organisations working in solidarity for dignity and justice, and is aimed at teachers, social workers, people working in healthcare – any job where you might be called on to support the government’s policies of xenophobia and exclusion, instead of people’s basic human need for a liveable life. Please sign up!

Oppose the far-right in Honor Oak

Far-right organisation Turning Point UK are trying for the third time to disrupt a family friendly drag event at the Honor Oak pub. They claim it’s about protecting children, but at the first demo, one of their supporters got arrested for a Nazi salute, and the second demo featured a bunch of drunk football hooligans. The local community sent the far right packing the past two occasions but it’s important to come out and support the pub, the event and to show Turning Point that south London will not tolerate their bigotry. Organisers are asking people to turn up at 9am on Saturday 29th April. More info here: https://twitter.com/AmarDeepSinghD/status/1645428647757598723 

Doorstep Library are looking for people to join their team of Reading Volunteers. 

They run projects in Tulse Hill and Brixton (and other Lambeth locations), and online, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoons from 4.30pm to 7.00pm. You can find more information on their website.

Free English classes for asylum seekers and refugees

Refugees and asylum seekers can get free online English classes via International House WC2

People will need to do the free quiz online to find out their level. Future Learn also offer online courses in simple English and Arabic (although there is an online dictionary for other languages) for English and occupational English (healthcare, tech etc). People will need to select the third option ‘free sample content’ and it covers much of the same stuff as the paid options

Love and solidarity

Lambeth Mutual Aid xoxo