The Big Society; it’s a great idea but it’s not a new and it’s certainly not a blue idea. People have been volunteering for time immemorial. So there Mr Cameron!
There are people out there that care for their cities and towns, their communities, neighbours and their friends. There have always been people willing to lend a helping hand or do a good turn. There is nothing new under the sun.
But we cannot run a country just on volunteering; behind every volunteering organisation there are skilled workers, who are vastly underpaid in comparison to their corporate equivalent’s, just keeping the wheels turning. These are the wheels that you want to turn.
For over 18 months I have been employed by a street pastor initiative in Greater Manchester; in a previous life I was a business manager for a financial services company earning more than 4 times my current salary. Our volunteers, of which I am included, patrol the streets at night helping people. We are all from local churches but we do not evangelise and we do not judge. We help anyone regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, beliefs or even political affiliations.
We feed the homeless, support the vulnerable such as young girls walking alone, or someone that has had too much to drink; we bring a calming influence to the sometime chaotic streets. The police continually ask us to patrol more areas because we “carry” something different and we make a difference.
When we are working we will provide food, drink, warm clothing, flip flops (for the girls that can no longer walk in their high heels) basic first aid and numerous other useful items. In the daytime I work from home but I use electricity, broadband, telephone, paper, envelopes, ink, stamps etc. etc. etc.. When travelling to meetings I use my own car, so there’s petrol, maintenance and insurance; to be fair public transport isn’t free.
All of this costs money!
I recruit and arrange training for new candidates, order uniforms, prepare rotas, ensure volunteers are available. I keep records and statistics all of which are invaluable when applying for funding. I liaise with other agencies such as the local authority, the police, homeless shelters, alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres.
Do you really think that these things just happen by chance?
Yes there is funding out there but the problem is funders prefer new projects and very few will consider paying salaries. New projects are brilliant as they meet current needs; but when the funding runs out and they are no longer “new” does the need disappear? Our project has been in Manchester since 2004 and we adapt to current needs and situations on a weekly basis. What we are doing works; how do we know? Because the police keep telling us!
A funder recently told us that we needed to become self-sustaining. How? We do not have a product to sell, the money or the manpower to harangue shoppers with our collection boxes and seriously, do we need more charity shops? We approach local churches but they too have been hit by the double dip recession and money is tight. The police and local authority used to fund us but their budgets have been cut. As part of our recruitment process we would ask candidates to raise £300 towards their training and uniforms, however, not everyone can afford to and there isn’t always financial support available in their networks and communities; surely we would be cutting off our nose to spite our face if we stuck rigidly to this requirement?
Sadly I am now no longer employed by street pastors although I still work for them; the reason being? There’s no money left.
Luke 10:5-7
Living Bible (TLB)
5 “Whenever you enter a home, give it your blessing. 6 If it is worthy of the blessing, the blessing will stand; if not, the blessing will return to you.
7 “When you enter a village, don’t shift around from home to home, but stay in one place, eating and drinking without question whatever is set before you. And don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, for the workman is worthy of his wages!
Mr Cameron, do you remember that “post it note” the day you moved into Downing Street? It said “there’s no money left”. It resulted in the country being put into austerity measures and rightly so. We must cut our cloth according to our means.
But your Big Society cannot run without funding, it’s falling flat on its face through lack of money. How long do you think I can carry on without payment?
Mr Cameron, do you still get paid?