On a wet and miserable November afternoon the Farley Bank headquarters of the RSO doesn’t look much like the home of groundbreaking project, but step through the doors and the bustle of a busy office paints a different picture.
RSO, or the Ore Valley Residents Service Organisation, was set up in 2001. The first in the country, it was based on a French concept combining employment opportunities with the need to improve neighbourhoods.
David Jeapes took over as manager later that same year, following a spell of unemployment, and hasn’t looked back since.
He said: “I was working in London and I just got fed up with the commute. I left work and had about six months trying to sort out what I wanted to do. I saw this job and went for it, despite people being quite negative about the whole idea of the RSO. It just made me more determined to do the job and it’s worked. I think that’s quite evident.”
Ore Valley RSO is a straightforward and effective scheme aimed at bringing the long-term unemployed back into the workforce. Offering a combination of on-the-job training and day release at a local college, participants work on real jobs, gain real experience and most importantly, get paid a real wage.
The knock-on effects are also evident; working in a routine, with colleagues and getting a job done, quickly encourages a sense of self-worth, pride and a desire to gain new skills.
Most of the jobs carried out by the 15-strong workforce involve painting and decorating, mainly for 1066 Housing Association, environmental jobs – building children’s playgrounds and ground maintenance.
David said: “Though we are a not-for-profit organisation we are a real company and like most businesses we need work to come in to keep going. Every job that comes in means we can create more jobs for people. We don’t pay huge directors fees, so we can use more profit to meet our aims and objectives.
“People come to us through referrals from the Council’s Tressell Training group, the Seaview charity and other bodies. They come to us for an assessment and we see how they go in the workplace, on real jobs. If all goes well and we have enough work on we give them a one year fixed contract.”
RSO gets its funding from a number of sources and is supported by 1066 Housing Association.
For more information about RSO, contact them on 01424 203714 or visit the website: www.ovrso.org.uk
No-one could accuse Jason of being idle. The 34-year-old musician from Hastings has toured the world with artists and bands, from Welsh pop/rock group the Stereophonics to masters of dance music the Chemical Brothers.
Signed up to a major record label with group Monkey Mafia, Jason’s dreams of forging a career performing and producing began to fade when the label folded, leaving him to scratch out a living through deejaying.
Not one to sit around bemoaning his fate, Jason signed up to the Government’s New Deal programme, designed to get the long-term unemployed back into work. He was referred to the Ore Valley Residents Service Organisation and has not stopped since, working and training one day a week at Hastings College, towards an NVQ in painting and decorating.
Jason, who has been with the company just over a year, said: “I knew it was time that I got myself a trade and this is definitely something different from what I am used to. It gets a different side of the brain working. We do a range of projects. I’ve worked in old people’s homes, doing all the reception areas and of course we do work on houses and flats.”
Music is never far from his mind and apart from deejaying at the Brass Monkey and various other nights, Jason also produces a couple of bands in the area. Music may well be Jason’s first love but he is no less ambitious about his future in this new trade. Future plans include more skills training, adding dry lining and plastering to his talents.
Neighbourhood Watch by email is believed to be a UK first; it is a free service for anyone on line and provides members with regular information about specific local crimes, scams, bogus callers and crime prevention. It also contains a lot of good news from your community.
Information is passed to members through this service from the Police, Trading Standards, and other agencies. Beverly Walker coordinates the scheme from Hastings Police Station. Her task is to put together all this information in an email newsletter to send to the 4,000 subscribers.
The scheme has received very positive feedback from residents. An online questionnaire found that 83% of respondents felt more informed by Sussex Police and 74% felt part of a safer community since the scheme began.
Mike Lewis, pioneer of the scheme, is keen to emphasise that the more people that subscribe to the scheme, the more successful it becomes.
To join Neighbourhood Watch by email simply send an email to hastingsandrothernhw@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call Beverly Walker on 01424 456411
For the 3,000 plus people who attended the annual Sankofa Hastings World Arts and World Music Festival, the event was a huge and spectacular success. Hastings Pier was brought colourfully to life for this celebration of Black History Month, coinciding with Ramadan and Diwali. Among a wealth of multi-cultural images were paintings and masques largely prepared by the Art Attitude Workshops at the Centre of Creativity with children and young people. Pablo McFee, vice chair of the Celebrating Cultural Diversity Network (CCDN), acted as compere.
Underlying the Sankofa event was the message that history plays an important role in helping us understand the sacrifices and achievements of those gone before and inspires us to go forward.
Councillor Jeremy Birch, leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: "I was very impressed with the Sankofa Festival. What came across was the talent from different cultures that exists in our community. Here was an opportunity to celebrate and have fun together."
The 12-hour party on the pier was organised by a committed team of volunteers from CCDN.
Each month the network hosts a Bring A Dish event at the Centre of Creativity, Norton Lodge, 20 West Hill. The next one of these Council-supported events takes place on December 31 from 9pm, combining New Year and Kwanzaa celebrations. For more information please call 01424 424 080 or check out www.centreofcreativity.org
Sharp-eyed wardens are making a difference to our town. On recent patrols they helped to catch a young burglary suspect.
Wardens spotted the 11 year old while on patrol in the Ore area of the town. At first they were suspicious because he was not at school. So they made contact with the Police and the Education Welfare Officer.
When the Police attended the scene they discovered the boy was suspected of burglary along with two others. All three were subsequently arrested for the crime.
Council leader Jeremy Birch said: ”This is an excellent example of the important work that the Warden Service does. They are the eyes and ears of the community, providing information and intelligence to other agencies when it matters. It is so important that everybody in the community works together to fight crime. Positive results can be achieved as this event shows”.
If you need to contact the Warden Service, please call 0800 0854 500.
The Safer Hastings Partnership (SHP), of which Hastings Borough Council is a partner, has praised a local youth event for its contribution reducing crime and the fear of crime in Hastings.
David Furness, SHP Community Safety Manager visited Storm, a sports and activities event for 11 to 14-year-olds and was “very impressed with quality of the event”.
Storm attracts more than 300 local young people on alternate Friday nights during term time. More than 60 per cent of those who attend are from priority wards in the town.
The Safer Hastings Strategy 2005 – 2008 notes that Hastings has a notably higher proportion of under 15s than the rest of the county and young people aged between ten and 17 are responsible for more than a third of detected offences in Hastings & St Leonards, despite forming just 13 per cent of the resident population.
As well as being responsible for a high percentage of crime, young people are often the most victimised.
David said: “I am confident that while Storm attracts this high number of local young people, it cannot fail but to have a positive impact on crime and the fear of crime in Hastings and St Leonards”
The SHP awarded Storm a grant of £2,000 last year from its Community Safety Chest for voluntary organisations contributing to the reduction of crime and the fear of crime.
Ryan van Graan, who started Storm two years ago, said: “We offer young people a safe place to go with the very best in equipment and care. It’s a real privilege to be able to offer them something very constructive and something they enjoy in such large numbers at such an important time of their lives.”
For more information on Storm, telephone 01424 755990.
Since the launch of our benefit fraud campaign, we’ve been busy taking calls on our fraud hotline.
It’s important that we all work together to tackle this sort of crime. Your call is very important in helping to catch benefit fraudsters.
So if you suspect that someone is receiving benefits from Hastings Borough Council that they are not entitled to please call the local Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0845 274 1082.
Hastings wardens are about to start issuing fixed penalty notices for dog fouling and littering.
The £50 fines will be issued to those people who allow dogs to foul land they have access to and to those persons who drop litter in a public place. They are an alternative to prosecution for these offences.
These penalties are another useful tool for Wardens in their fight to keep Hastings clean and tidy. Although the new fines will be enforced across Hastings and St Leonards, certain hotspots will be targeted. Areas known to have particular problems with this sort of ‘enviro-crime’ will be the focus for the Wardens.
Prior to the first notices being issued, there will be period during which warnings will be issued to offenders rather than a penalty notice.
Councillor Godfrey Daniel, portfolio holder for the environment said: “Fixed penalty notices are an important tool in our fight against those who spoil the environment for others. It is hoped that the on-the-spot fines will deter offenders and improve the environment for everybody”.
To report persistent offenders, you should call the Together Action Line on 08000 854 500.
For more information, please visit www.hastings.gov.uk/street_cleaning
Hastings Urban Bikes hasreceived a grant from the Community Chest under the Small Grants Scheme to promote cycle confidence training inHastings. Working with Active Hastings and qualifiedcycle trainers, HUB will be offering free training sessions atvarious locations during December and January. The lessons are open to anyone, of any age, whether they’ve cycled before or not.
So whetheryoufeel your road skills need improving or you’d like to give cycling a go for the first time, contact HUB to find out where your nearest session is going to be run. Tel: 0845 838 1569 or see their website, www.hastingsurbanbikes.com
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This page last updated: 21/12/2005