Families are speaking out against social cleansing

December 13, 2015#housingcrisis, Focus E15 Campaign, Newham council, social cleansing, UncategorizedElina, Luis, Welwyn Garden CityFocusE15

Recently some of our campaigners travelled to Welwyn Garden City to meet people who have been sent out of Newham. We were shocked at the conditions that families with children are expected to live in. The rents a very high, even for just one room and people are really struggling financially. It is a grim reality for those who find themselves without their support networks when their children are unwell or when they need help.

Read the stories of Luis and Elina and their families below, examples of the many families forced out of Newham to Welwyn Garden City. Luis has a housing meeting on Monday 14 December, check our facebook page for updates on Luis after the meeting.

People are being moved out of Newham in a process which is being referred to as social cleansing. Last year over 400 families were moved out of Newham. Recently we me Luis who was sent to Welwyn Garden City. Luis made the journey down to meet us on our street stall because his housing situation is desperate and he does not know what will happen next. He worries about the future. He lives with his partner and four children in damp, cramped and inappropriate accommodation: the family is split up between two studio flats, which is not suitable for family life.

Newham council placed them in this accommodation over two years ago along with many other families. All the flats in his block have problems with damp and are very expensive to rent. Newham Labour Council is still responsible for the fate of all these families in terms of housing.

It is an impossible situation for Luis because his rent has just gone up and he is expected to pay council tax twice over (on each of the studio flats). With mounting arrears, Luis doesn’t stand a chance financially.The stress on living like this is taking its toll on several members of the family because Newham council has said that Luis will be making himself ‘intentionally homeless’ if he does not pay the increased weekly rent. No father would make his family intentionally homeless – Luis just needs a chance to get his life back in order and live in accommodation that is suitable and healthy for his children.

Luis wants to solve his housing issues and has pressed for a meeting with Newham’s housing officer and has been given a meeting on Monday 14 December at 10.30am at Bridge House in Stratford E15.

Focus E15 campaign supports Luis and his family and their right to decent, affordable, long term, secure housing in Newham which is where they were living, where they have connections and support. Never let it be forgotten that the Carpenters Estate has over 400 empty homes and there are many people who needs these homes today.
Solidarity with Luis and all those in housing difficulty.
No one is intentionally homeless!
Stop social cleansing!

Update from Elina in Welwyn Garden City

I am single mum with 3 small children. I have been sent to Welwyn Garden city by Newham Council as a result of social cleansing. Not only am I am battling with my housing situation but I have been asking the agency (who runs the building where I am housed and are called Theory Ltd), to repair or replace my washing machine. Theory Ltd often fail to do repairs or take a very long time. The first time it took 6 months to fix my washing machine.

The closest public laundrette is 40 minutes away from the flat. At the moment I am having problems with my washing machine again. It is in the same room where we all live, eat and sleep. Its making a very loud noise and is scaring the kids. There is damage to the drum and it needs to be fixed or replaced I think.

I reported the problem to the agency about 2 weeks ago. Today I called them again and a woman in the agency told me there is nothing on their files about this problem. When I called Newham council a man told me that if there is a problem with the washing machine he will ask the agency to remove it but it is not their responsibility to provide us with another one. I can not afford to get another one and with children there is always so much washing to be done.

I think that Newham council does not care about the people who voted for them. They and the housing agency get payed well. Yet we can’t afford very basic things like washing machines.

E15 play comes to London

December 9, 2015event, Focus E15 Campaign, housing crisisdrama, E15, FYSA, Matthew Woodhead, play, Pleasance theatre, theatreFocusE15

An exciting play about the Focus E15 campaign has been developed by FYSA theatre company. The play is simply called ‘E15’ and it is showing at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington from 15-18 December. The cast and crew of FYSA theatre company spent lots of time with the campaign on the street stall last summer just before the play went up to the Edinburgh Festival.

We caught up with Matthew Woodhead, the Artistic Director of FYSA theatre to ask him a few question about the play.

1. What drew you to tell the story of Focus E15 campaign? Have you or the cast ever had problems with housing?

The housing crisis is an epidemic that runs throughout England. Having grown up in Sheffield and in the shadow of the recently boarded up Park Hill Estate, the story of families being evicted from their homes to make room for private luxury accommodation is all too common. From Stratford to Sheffield, the story is the same.

The Focus E15 campaign is something that has struck a chord with people who face housing problems across the country. I remember when I first started speaking to people at Park Hill Estate, they all had heard about the mum’s story. In some cases, it had even motivated people to make a stand.

I was really interested and I went to Stratford to suss it out a little bit more, I was overwhelmed by the kindness and support of everyone at the Saturday Street Stall and I wanted to stay. The story of the Focus E15 campaign is something that resonates with everyone. The struggle embodies a much wider problem that runs throughout our society but the strength and solidarity of everyone in the campaign is an inspiration to others. The story shows that people can make a difference and that you can enforce change. The hope is that we can export what you’ve got going on in Stratford back to some parts of Sheffield.

2. Both this play and your previous play are based on testimonies of living people – why are you drawn to verbatim theatre in particular?

Verbatim theatre is something I have always been interested in because it feels so much more real than any other form of drama. In a world that feels increasingly dominated by the voice of a particular status and class, this form of theatre actually provides us with the opportunity to hear different stories from a diverse range of people. Also, what is the point in me sitting down and writing something when there is a whole campaign of people standing on the street who can say it better?

3. What are the difficulties in portraying politically motivated characters? For example, political characters can be dismissed as being ‘naive’. How do you get round this?

I think in some ways, every character is politically motivated. This is especially true of ‘E15’. For us, the real challenge (and something we’re still working on) is trying to tune into the personal story behind a person’s politics. By getting under the skin of someone’s individual situation, we hope to represent everyone respectfully and truthfully. I think if you kind of hold this up as your mantra, you get closer to expressing the reality of a person’s situation – therefore creating more rounded and balanced characters. I completely agree though, it’s a big challenge!

4. What was the reaction of people who saw the play at the Edinburgh fringe this year?

We were absolutely bowled over by the reaction from everyone in Edinburgh. It was incredibly moving for everyone from the campaign to come up to see the show. We can’t wait for the run at the Pleasance to smash it all over again!

5. Are you interested in political theatre as a genre and what other plays, of any genre, have inspired you to become a director?

It is impossible to not be a political director and writer at this moment in time. We are facing a country that is being ruled by a government that is arguably more right wing than anything we have seen in a long time. With the disintegration of any left alternative in mainstream politics, there has never been a more important time for anyone to campaign and look for alternatives. If making political theatre can continue to play any small role in that – I’ll keep on making it.

6. What are your plans for the forthcoming year?

We are absolutely thrilled that ‘E15’ is going for a residency at Battersea Arts Centre from the 18th-31st of January. We are also going onto Camden People’s Theatre on the 23rd and 24th of January for ‘Whose London is it Anyway’? So there are plenty more opportunities to see the play then. We are also very excited that he show is then going to be developed for a run at Battersea Arts Centre in autumn 2016, before it heads out on a national tour!

Thank you Matt. Good luck with this production.

If you like the idea of helping to raise funds for this production please support FYSA’s kickstarter campaign

The play ‘E15’ is at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington from 15-18 December. Book your tickets today!

“Absurd” Newham council and police seize campaign table

December 6, 2015#housingcrisis, Carpenters Estate, Focus E15 Campaign, Newham councilpolitical policing, tableFocusE15

The Focus E15 table is innocent – release it now!

On Saturday 5 December, Focus E15 campaign was holding its regular weekly street stall in Stratford. As usual the campaign had been drawing attention to the housing crisis in Newham where around 5,000 people live in temporary accommodation and where 400 homes lie empty on the Carpenters Estate.

With 40 minutes left to go, a Newham Law Enforcement officer called John Oddie, accompanied by several police, confronted the campaigners, in what was obviously a pre-planned operation.

Having already told the SWP stall to remove their table, the police and law enforcement demanded that we pack up immediately or else they would seize our table, banner and sound system, quoting the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (regarding the sound system) and the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 (regarding the banner and table). However, we were determined that they would not close down our street presence and demanded that our table should be allowed to stay. It was not obstructing anyone and the shopping street is very wide.

The stall has been there, same time, same place, for over two years every week! So why, the campaigners demanded to know, was today the day they chose to harass and threaten Focus E15 campaign’s presence on the streets? Could it be because there is renewed resistance to the council after Newham delivered a blow to the Carpenters Estate by closing down the Tenants Management Organisation last week in an underhand way.

Newham council has borrowed over £500m from the banks, more than any other local authority, and is now paying back millions of pounds in interest each year. Outrageously, over the next 70 years, this will mean that the council will end up paying back over £1bn in interest to the banks, a blatant squandering of public money.

Campaigners tried to negotiate with the council and police. We had not received any complaints by passers-by on the shopping street , but the council and police were determined to make their point and used their force to seize the table. As one Focus E15 campaigner who was there explained:

“It was so ridiculous and absurd seeing the police and council seizing our campaign table and bundling it into a police van as if it were a person being taken to a police station. At the same time we recognise the seriousness of being targeted by the council in this way, but we will not be intimidated. And we want our table back Newham!”

Once the police and council enforcement officer had left with the table, Focus E15 campaigners and other passers-by continued to use their voices and give out leaflets about what had just happened. We will not be intimidated or silenced!

Share this blog post and join Focus E15 campaign on the street next Saturday. Come with your pop up tables! Let us have a big presence at our campaign stall and defend our democratic right to protest.

Saturday 12 December,12-2pm on the Broadway, outside Wilko’s in Stratford E15.

Together we will build this housing campaign, defend our right to protest and continue to demand that the Carpenters Estate is repopulated.

CALL OUT: STAND WITH NAZRAH AND ISMAIL! NO PROPERTY DEVELOPERS IN NEWHAM COUNCIL!

December 3, 2015courtroom solidarity, families, Newham council, public action, refugeeconflict of interest, courtroom solidarity, Ismail and Nazrah, newham councilFocusE15

On Friday, Nazrah and Ismail, two of the most active members of the Focus E15 campaign, will be facing Newham Council at the Royal Courts of Justice in Central London, and they need your support in the courtroom.

IMG_20150117_130717 — Ismail and the boys on a street stall earlier this year

CALLOUT: 10:30am, Friday, December 4, 2015
Central London County Court, Thomas More Building WC2A 2LL

Since coming to a Saturday campaign stall in November 2014, looking for help resisting their family’s eviction, Nazrah and Ismail have worked tirelessly to support other families in Newham and beyond going through housing struggles of their own. They have lived in Newham for over 6 years and developed strong ties and support networks in the borough.

In that time, with their three young boys, the family have experienced their own high court bailiff eviction and been in constant conflict with Newham Council and the Home Office about their housing, right to work (as a teacher and teaching assistant, respectively) and Asylum claims.

On Friday they will be appealing Newham Council’s rejection of their responsibility to house the family, while challenging the role of a senior housing manager at Newham, who is also a board member of a property developer in the borough. The family are arguing that someone who makes a profit from property development, management and rentals, should not be in a position to determine the borough’s housing needs, or decide where families in need should be housed.

Join them in the courtroom on Friday to help keep the pressure on Newham Council!

Stand with Nazrah and Ismail!

No to property developers in Newham Council!

Central London County Court, Thomas More Building WC2A 2LL
10:30am, Friday, December 4, 2015

Carpenter’s Estate Tenant’s Management Organisation being starved of funds by Newham Council

December 2, 2015#housingcrisis, Carpenters Estate, Focus E15 Campaign, Uncategorizednewham council, Robin Wales, stratfordFocusE15

An urgent message from the Tenant’s Management Organisation on the Carpenter’s Estate:

We have reason to suspect Newham council is wilfully engineering the closure of the Tenant’s Management Organisation despite a 91% residents’ vote to continue the organisation for another 5 years. The council have declared us insolvent and closed as of tomorrow (1^st December) without due explanation or external audit

Newham Council has been unlawfully withholding funds to the CTMO since the 1^st October 2015 (to the sum of 191,880). Our view is that Newham council is purposefully doing so knowing that our funds are limited. Since Newham Council are both our only source of funding and our only creditors we believe that they are constructing the abolition of the CTMO to expedite their eventual sale of the Carpenter’s Estate.

The CTMO runs a vibrant community centre at the heart of the Carpenters Estate that provides residents with a number of services including a soup kitchen a free IT suite and a meeting space for several residents’ groups.

We have been told that the CTMO will no longer exist as of tomorrow (1^st December) the staff have been transferred without consultation to work for Newham Council. What will happen to the community centre and the services it provides to residents is unclear.

Signed by the TMO and Residents of Carpenters Estate.

CTMO is also directly employed by the CTMO’s board, which Newham Council have so far refused to consult with, as would be necessary when attempting to transfer staff. The CTMO has refused to accept any terms from the council until they go through the board. A council officer will now be based on the CMTO’s site, reporting directly to her line manager at the council.

Please help us by spreading this message far and wide and join us at our strategy meeting on Saturday 5^th December at the CTMO centre 17 Doran Walk, Stratford at 2.30pm.

Syed and Syeda’s case

October 31, 2015UncategorizedFocusE15

We have been living in a property for the last two years in East Ham, which has been in complete disrepair throughout our tenancy and the landlord and estate agent (Elliot Davis of Green Street) has resisted doing any of the necessary repairs.

The house is full of damp, with a bed bug infestation, and the substandard condition of wallpapers and paint has been causing health hazards to my family. I have two children under the age of two living in this property who have continuously been bitten by bugs, and our GP has provided us with multiple medical letters regarding these, which we have sent to the estate agents with no results. The conditions have also had a major impact on the mental health of my family, which we have letters to prove

At the start of 2015 the landlord increased the rent without undertaking any of the repairs, and at this point the estate agent (Elliot Davis) came to visit our property for the first time since we had moved in. He witnessed the poor conditions and promised to get the repair works started instantly. On this promise, we signed the new tenancy agreement with increased rent, but all that was done was the kitchen and front door was repainted.

We contacted the estate agents (Elloit Davis) about this but were told that, as usual, the landlord was on holiday in Spain and wouldn’t be available for two months. At this point, we decided to withhold our rent to pressure the estate agents into carrying out the necessary repairs and that we would inform the council. They responded by sending us an eviction notice.

In July the estate agent (Elliot Davis) sent over builders without informing us beforehand, who started to pain over the damp to cover it, who also damaged some of our clothes and possessions with paint.

Since we have informed the council, they arranged a visit to inspect the conditions of the property and invited the landlord and estate agents (Elliot Davis) to attend, but they were not present. The estate agents have been given a week to respond, but we have heard nothing.

We are demanding the following:

A refund on some of our rent over the last two years as we are not prepared to pay to live in sub-standard conditions

The landlord and/ or estate agents (Elliot Davis) to pay the legal costs we have incurred in hiring a solicitor to handle our case

That our home is made livable and suitable for a family with young children

Syed, Syeda and the Focus E15 Campaign

We will not be silenced about the housing crisis

October 30, 2015#housingcrisis, event, Newham council, political policingaction, focus E15 campaign, homelessness, rough sleeping, stratford centreFocusE15

East London night of resistance – resistance goes on undeterred….

On Wednesday 28 October, Focus E15 campaign, East London Radical Assembly and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! organised a night of resistance in a local Stratford pub. After a great evening of film showings, discussion, poetry and music, the plan was to join the rough sleepers and homeless people overnight in the old Stratford Centre/mall to highlight the fact that rough sleepers are regularly kicked out of the mall and often spend the night in the grounds of the local church.

Suspiciously however, on the day of the event, a notice went up to say that the Stratford Centre would be closed from 11pm to 5am for ‘maintenance works’. We then found out that the police had been on the phone to the pub all afternoon, hassling them to cancel our social event and discussion about the escalating housing crisis. The pub realised that this was absurd and said no. We are clear that this is Newham Labour council and the police working together to intimidate the pub and silence our campaign. We also saw police ‘guarding’ the grounds of the local church at night, presumably to stop people from sleeping there. Of course, when we arrived at the mall there was absolutely no sign of any maintenance work. The police guarded all entrances but we led a lively and noisy demonstration just outside and told passersby what was going on. A home made quilted banner declared our solidarity with homeless people and as one Focus E15 campaigner clearly explained, ‘we are in solidarity with people facing homelessness and no intimidation by council or police will stop our campaign growing’.

What is happening to people with their housing is unacceptable. More and more people are sleeping rough or left in temporary accommodation for years on end whilst at the same time many homes are sitting empty, such as the 400 or so homes on the Carpenters Estate. Robin Wales and Newham council encourage an Olympic legacy of gentrification on the one hand and evictions and social cleansing on the other. Let us not forget that Newham is one of the least affordable boroughs for private renting in the country and has one of the worst records in London for rehousing people out of the borough: last year Newham moved 423 homeless families out of London altogether.

It is not good enough to leave people to sleep rough on our streets. Say no to street homelessness and join our campaign by getting involved in organising with us and by coming down to our weekly street stall in Stratford on the Broadway outside Wilkos from 12-2pm. Make your voice count.

East London Night of Resistance says everyone needs a home! Join us.

October 28, 2015#housingcrisis, event, housing crisis, Newham council, public actionEast London Night Of Resistance, focus E15 campaign, homeless, housing crisis, stratfordFocusE15

On Wednesday 28 October, join Focus E15 campaign at the King Edward VII pub on the Broadway in Stratford, London E15 for East London Night of Resistance, co-hosted with East London Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism and East London Radical Assembly.

At the end of the night, we will be going to Stratford Mall to give support to the homeless people of Stratford who seek warmth and shelter and who are increasingly being moved on by police and security, as gentrification and social cleansing take hold of post-Olympic Stratford. Bring sleeping bags, thermos flasks and solidarity.

While the Carpenters Estate in Stratford has over 400 empty council homes, homelessness is on the increase. As if this scandal wasn’t bad enough, Newham is amongst the 15 least affordable areas for private renting in the country and has one of the worst records in London for rehousing people out of the borough. Last year it moved 423 homeless families out of London altogether.

Join us in the pub from 8pm and then on the streets to help build the resistance.

Focus E15 campaign will be showing a short film called Squatters which is about housing issues in London in the 1970s.

Pilar Lopez will be bringing folk music from Spanish freedom fighters. See pilarawa.wordpress.com for more information.
Janine Booth, a punk poet will be performing as well: https://m.facebook.comJanineBoothTheBigJ
Porcupine Dilemma will be playing a few acoustic numbers.

There could even be a bar room sing-along!Please join our campaigners at the end of the evening when we will be leaving together to show solidarity with the homeless in Newham with a mass sleep out. For the most up to date information see the facebook event page

We will be asking for donations to cover the cost of this event.

No to social cleansing in Redbridge! Support Bianca to stay in her community

October 11, 2015event, families, housing crisis, london, social cleansingdirect action, focus E15 campaign, Redbridge council, single mothersFocusE15

Stand in solidarity with Bianca on Monday 12 October. Bianca is being evicted. The baliffs are coming. She wants to be rehoused in her local community near to her support networks.
Either meet at her flat at from 8.30am or at the housing office in Illford at 9.30am.

Please be aware that the press will be there -bring your banners and your voices!

Bianca’s flat address is : 304, Chadwell Heath High Rd, Romford, RM6 6 AG. Meet there at 8.30am. Nearest station to Bianca’s flat is Chadwell Heath Station, or 86 bus.

From her flat we will be organising free cabs to take people to the housing office when Bianca has her housing meeting at 9.30am.

Housing office address is: The Housing Advice Centre, 17-23 Clements Road, Ilford IG1 1AG This is the second meeting point and we will be there at 9.30am.Nearest Station to the housing office is: Ilford Station
Bus 25 86 145 147 169 W19

We urge Redbridge council to look carefully at the needs of this young family who have a child with hypermobility needs. They want to move forward with their lives in a positive way. Bianca’s child needs to remain in her school where she has completed her reception year and made friends.

Remember the council must exhaust all local possibilites first before they rehouse Bianca out of the borough.
Demand that Bianca and her children are rehoused in the local area! Email: housing.options@redbridge.gov.uk

Bianca and her children need somewhere to live near to her child's school. — Bianca and her children need somewhere to live near to her child’s school.

100s of people unite to march against evictions in Stratford with Focus E15 Campaign

September 25, 2015march, Newham council, public action#MarchAgainstEvictions, focus E15 campaign, housing crisis, social cleansingFocusE15

A march against evictions awoke the heart of Stratford in the East End of London last Saturday when local people, political groups and campaigns took to the streets to demand decent housing for all. The march was militant, diverse and empowering, full of noise, speeches and lively chants. It was led by the original Focus E15 mothers and their families plus others who face being shoved out of London due to a manufactured housing crisis. A local mother, Bianca Ford who is being evicted with her children on October 12 in Redbridge said she had never been on a march before but marching with others who care about housing issues had given her the confidence to speak out. Afterwards she said that the march had been a ‘real buzz’. Residents from the Focus E15 hostel were also uplifted by the gathering of people and felt like they could speak out about their current housing fears. This shows that our active solidarity brings courage to people, inspiring them to take action.

Ghassem from Asylum Clinic spoke about migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and the racism and discrimination they face in housing. Class War stormed into Foxtons letting agency, drawing attention to rip off house prices, agency fees and high rents. They were congratulated for taking this action by many on the march. People also became angry and vocal when we passed by Bridge House, Newham’s homelessness housing office: a homemade banner was hung over the entrance demanding Newham Labour council stop social cleansing. Squatters rights were also championed and Sisters Uncut made the links between housing security and the importance of fighting against domestic violence.

Newham Labour Party was criticised for its role in the housing crisis and comrades in the Revolutionary Communist Group were on the megaphone when the march passed by a boarded up Newham Labour Party office.There was no one to be seen, perhaps they were hiding behind the boards…

The march finished up on the Carpenters estate because 3 tower blocks on the estate are still virtually empty. 400 flats have been left to rot by Newham labour party in the middle of one of the worst housing crisis this country has seen in a long time and one that continues to affect the most vulnerable people in our communities. Both Sam and Jasmin from the campaign spoke about the actions the campaign has taken to place the housing crisis on the political agenda in Newham and beyond. They then untied 100s of balloons which symbolized the 50,000 people who have been forced to move out of borough (in London) during the past 3 years.