The post you are reporting:
You're right Howard, but sometimes it seems that people believe they can achieve all they want to achieve, by themselves - and they can't, at least not as successfully as they might have done, if they had opened the doors to others.
A good example is yesterday afternoon; you may know that there is a Folkestone Road Multi-Agency task force that are working together to try and address the many problems associated with the Folkestone Road.
Once the template of it is done and we know what works, then it will be spread out to other streets/areas in the Ward and District, but we have to start somewhere and it has to be a high-profile area to start with, hence the Folkestone Road.
DDC's Community Cohesion Officer had organised a Multi-Agency open-day at Vale View School last night between 3.30 and 7pm.
There were many officers from DDC, from many DDC departments; sure-start for young mums, a Lady who speaks 3 different languages, from Migrant Helpline; the owner of the WestBank Guest House, Mr. Michael and myself.
I hoped there would be more PF members, but no one could attend, so I wrote a paper on PF's aims and raison d'etre and printed off many copies of it.
Notes about the meeting were deliverd to every door along the Folkestone Road, so everyone knew about it.
We didn't have a lot of local people, but those that did come along were good people, people interested in helping to improve all aspects of life on the Folkestone Road and some who lived just off of the road.
I took their details so I can contact them later, but through all this, it was great networking too - finding out exactly what other departments can do, chatting to the Lady from Migrant Helpline on the advice they give out to new immigrants who come here.
She agreed with me that it is the perception of what new immgrants get, that causes the problem, not the immigrants themselves, so I said we need to know exactly what they do get, what they are told and then and only then will we have more harmony.
I actually explained that fairy joke to her and she said it wasn't racist, it wasn't about putting down new immgrants, it was about the perception that they get everything and we get nothing: this Lady comes from Eastern Europe - Armenia and she knew what I was saying.
I stood there talking to people for 3 1/2 hours because I felt it was important to do so; I was in agony every minute of the time and when I came out of the school, I tripped on the step and screamed out in agony as I had twisted my knee - I looked up and said "Thank You God".
Jean picked me up thank goodness.
Some poeple care about their local community, others don't give a stuff.
Roger