News and Updates

The Charity Commission in the United Kingdom issued a statement in response to the recent riots and public disorder. They recognize that charities are at the heart of communities and have always been part of the solution to division and hatred. The Commission encourages trustees to make decisions in good faith, guided by their charity’s best interests, and provides guidance to help them navigate these challenging times. Charities play a crucial role in bringing communities together, protecting vulnerable populations, and making the country a better place. 

The Charity Commission

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Statement from VONNE and North East local Infrastructure Organisations on the ongoing riots and violence

The recent events over the last 10 days have The recent violence and hate in parts of our region have deeply shocked us. We represent and support thousands of voluntary and community sector groups in the North East, dedicated to building communities, addressing disadvantage, and creating positive futures.

Their work is driven by compassion, which starkly contrasts with the recent events.
Many of the affected and traumatised communities are where these groups are most active.

Our work is rooted in a love for the North East, making it heartbreaking to see such division and hate in our towns and cities.

We stand in solidarity with the affected communities and support the individuals and families who have been victims of hate. We also offer our full support to the community groups and charities that will continue their crucial work and begin the process of rebuilding lives and communities.

Supported by:
Catalyst Stockton
Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
Community and Voluntary Action Blyth Valley
Community Action Northumberland
Connected Voice
Durham Community Action
East Durham Trust
Hartlepower Community Trust
Inspire South Tyneside
Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency (MVDA)
NAVCA
North Tyneside Voluntary Organisations Development Agency (VODA)
Northumberland CVA
Point North, formerly County Durham Community Foundation
RCVDA
Tees Valley Rural Action
Tees Foundation
Voluntary and Community Action Sunderland
VONNE

Community Tension Resources
The VCS Emergencies Partnership has shared the following information:

Safety and security of your staff, volunteers and the people you support is paramount, the EP have pulled together a few basic suggestions that partners may want to consider:

Prioritise your people –
 

• Communicate with them, raise their awareness and make sure you give them up to date guidance on how to keep themselves and others safe

• Consider travel times and routes

• Be careful about your brand and how that brand identity may put your people at risk

• Review your policies, contact details and emergency plans

Protect your properties -
 

• Review your business continuity plans

• Consider guidance on what makes your buildings safer… recognising some are quick fixes, but many may take longer to implement (more details below)

• Don’t forget the vacant buildings – these can be easy targets

We hope the following resources are helpful:

Health and Safety Executive have guidance on violence and aggression in the workplace
Muslim Council of Britain have a range of resources on mosque safety
UK Trauma Council has published a range of relevant resources for those working with children and young people affected by trauma and bereavement (we shared these last week).

British Red Cross offer workshops on Empathy and Migration and Coping With Challenges for young people.
More information can be found on their web page including resources about how to talk to children about conflict:

How to talk to children about conflict | British Red Cross
Talking about major emergency | Secondary teaching resources (redcross.org.uk)
Dealing with emotional and physical distress


British Future provide a practical guide that combats hate crime and prejudice

Belong Network have blogged on preventing tension and conflict in communities and good practice on building shared ground and addressing community tensions
Involve share a framework on building community cohesion
Open source guidance on how to spot ‘fake news’ for young people
Understanding hate crime for children
Gov.UK funding for protective Security Schemes for places of worship

For the longer term - The NaCTSO Counter Terrorism Crime Prevention Toolkit is aimed at small organisations. It contains helpful, low-cost solutions to deter crime and counter terrorism e.g. making it difficult to gain access to premises, increasing chance of detection and reducing access to contents and victims.

A 5-step process for risk management is outlined here: ProtectUK Risk Management Guidance ProtectUK- including guidance around CCTV, doors and locks, windows, shutters and grilles – as well as how to develop a security culture.

The E-learning package E-Learning | ProtectUK is a good place to start with developing understanding and practice in this area. They have also provided guidance for staff work     (Run Hide Tell)


NCVO have also shared the following statement and provide further resources.

https://www.navca.org.uk/news/statement-on-recent-violent-disorder

 

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