Campaigners demanding that Lambeth council do more to help people who are homeless, addicted or have mental health problems tonight (24 November) protested outside Lambeth town hall in Brixton as the council’s cabinet met inside.
With amplified reggae, vuvuzelas and a drummer, they made plenty of noise to back their case after, they said, they were refused entry to the meeting.
A local resident, Colette, thanked Assemble, the organiser of the campaign for being a voice of homelessness, addiction and mental health in Brixton.
“A lot of us have seen it, but what are we going to do about it?” she asked.
“This campaign is a show of democracy. It shows that people count, votes count, you count,” she told participants.
“We’re out here, democracy reigns and we will vote to make sure that homeless people, people with addiction and mental health have the support that they need.”
Joshua, who arrived in Brixton from the USA 20 years ago, said people love Brixton.
“You’ve got the atmosphere, you’ve got the vibes, you’ve got the culture.
“But the thing is in Brixton 10 years back we weren’t seeing this kind of issue with mental health, the drug abuse, the homelessness.
“There’s a lot of people struggling. People are literally sleeping in blankets outside the civic centre. What’s going on?
“We don’t feel safe or comfortable anymore in our own area. People are generally hard up, but also people are literally coming into Brixton for drug deals.
“The councillors that are in there right now, they pass the same things that we’re seeing all the time.
“Where’s their help? So, that’s literally why we’re here today. This a Brixton street party to make some noise, and to say: ‘We’ve got to do something about this’.”
At the launch of the campaign, said Chris, 150 people collectively drew up a “community charter” about how to create change and create more support for people in Brixton struggling with homelessness, addiction and mental ill health.
“We did plan on presenting this charter to the cabinet who are currently meeting,” he said. “However, security have very clearly barred the doors and refused anyone entering this public meeting.”
One protester responded by sticking the charter to the front door of the town hall.
Assemble describes itself as a campaign “to change the way our country is run”.
It says that “across the UK, people are coming together and making waves – forcing authorities to actually listen to us.”
Together, they will create “a parallel Parliament: a People’s House, containing citizens from all walks of life, selected by democratic lottery – a bit like a jury – who will review the evidence, listen to reports from assemblies … and decide on our way forward as a nation. Then, we’ll take to the streets and demand change in our millions.”
The Assemble website hosts several lengthy documents, one of which is a “Hook Events Guide” which is a 10-step guide to organising a “hook event” designed to involve “a broader demographic of the community than ‘the usual suspects’ who may attend ‘political events’.
A hook event, such as a street party, is typically “a fun, community event designed to bring in new people to discover what Assemblies are; and how they can get more involved”.
