Tuesday, 6th March 2012, 10.30am to 3.30pm, at 73 Churchgate, Leicester, LE1 3AN

Champions Against Violence (CAV) is an experiential learning programme for young people, tackling issues of bullying and domestic violence. Diversity Hub (www.diversityhub.org.uk) in collaboration with local schools has been running this programme for almost 3 years. Diversity Hub is now reflecting on our experience of delivering the programme and the evidence gathered through our evaluation with the aim of consolidating our learning for what might come next.

You might come to this workshop if;
• Bullying and domestic violence (DV) is a new area of work for you and you are interested in CAV, or
• You have experience in this area of work and would like an opportunity to share your experiences, or
• …you are interested in influencing what happens next and answering the question……so what?

The final outline of the day will be settled when it is clearer who is coming and what their interest is; at the moment the day could look like:

10.30 start
Hellos and introductions
Then a mix of;
• Outline of Champions Against Violence
• Evidence from the evaluation and feedback from schools
• Challenges and learning for Diversity Hub
• Some Diversity Hub/CAV methodology
With space for questions, comment and discussion.

12.00/12.30 lunch, 13.00/13.30 re start
The afternoon is likely to have three elements;
• An opportunity for people to share there practise relating to DV
• Discussion of the implications for working with young people
• Shaping learning opportunities and youth work responses to DV and young people
•
15.00/15.30 Close

There will be no fee for this event, but we will ask you to cover the cost of providing a sandwich lunch.

If you have an interest in participating in the workshop please contact Bill on bill@billmalley.org.uk . Places will be limited, so if you are interested, then please contact Bill asap and no later than, 23rd February to enable us to finalise planning.

Note that the access to the workshop venue is poor. Entry via three flights of stairs. If this creates an access problem for you please speak to Bill and we will organise an alternative venue.

Liz

All at Diversity Hub

Well it has been all change here at Diversity Hub. All change of address that is. We have moved from Wygston’s House to:

Diversity Hub
73 Churchgate
Leicester
LE1 3AN

Tel: 0116 222 9977 Mobile: 07875 585 593 Email: info@diversityhub.org.uk

Look forward to hearing from you all and keeping in touch in our new home.

On February 18^th 2001, I started work at Diversity Hub (or NCBI as we were known then).  Where oh where have 10 years gone?  Well, you know what they say about time flying when you are having fun – that is so true at DH!

I was asked for a few highlights of the past 10 years and that is so difficult.  Mostly, I have loved the way we (staff and volunteer team) support and nurture each other and how, through difficult times, we continue to look to the future.

The support I have received in my work (and through periods of personal loss and sorrow) has been astounding and I think (sadly) rare.  I have grown professionally and personally and count all of our team (past and present) as my valued friends.

I think what is so special about DH is that “we walk the talk“.  We demonstrate this in the services we provide and our treatment of each other.

Here’s to another decade…

Jacquie x              

Last Tuesday and the Tuesday before that, we covered a whole range of topics under the umbrella of bullying and domestic violence.  Young People, Males and Mixed Race People got to say what they didn’t want others to think, do or say about them in Stop Bugging Us groups, which was really good information for the rest of the group and brilliant the young men standing up and taking their space.  Several took their courage in their hands in Speak Outs and shared with the group their personal experiences of domestic violence. It was sobering to hear what they had experienced, but also hopeful and heartwarming that they wanted to talk about it, and trusted the group enough to do it.

On a lighter note we played Pictionary GOES LARGE! beautifully facilitated by Ian.  We were also surprised and delighted to hear from one of the young men that he knew Diversity Hub were on Facebook.  ’Gosh’ we thought to ourselves ‘this social networking really does work!’ until he revealed he’d been looking for the dance group Diversity and found us instead!  Oh well, we haven’t got the fancy dance moves but then you can’t always be good at everything can you?  ;)

Liz

Five of our young volunteers (Shama, Fatima, Lusinda, Ian and Lyvia) spent the day with me covering the basics of bid writing, listening skills, research and information gathering. It was great to be training again (I used to do it all the time) and find that I wasn’t completely rusty.

Everyone was looking forward to learning some practical skills that will help them write bids (that will generate income for the charity) and that they can use outside of DH. Using a mix of written and practical exercises we achieved this goal.   I was delighted with how well the day went and want to thank everyone for their support.  Now – with their first bid to be worked on – I look forward to supporting the team meet their goals.

Yeah team!!!

Jacquie

One of the many issues raised by the response to the comments is…. does it matter what I say ‘off-air’ or at home?  If I am in public, perhaps at work, do I have a responsibility to pay attention to what I am saying?  Can I be more relaxed at home, maybe saying what I really think?

Can I really say anything I like in private?  Or do I always need to take into account who is listening?  Or for Andy and Richard who is recording?

What do you think?

Bill

Louise, from CEPI, has reported:

“The night went well.  Last time we spent at Wygston’s there seemed to be considerable ‘activity’ in the main cellar room downstairs – including possible poltergeist activity – we did not encounter any such activity on this occasion.

However, the ‘sensitive members’ of the group did seem to pick up on possible residual energy – mainly in the smaller cellar room and also on the first floor… other members of the group reported being touched and pushed and other members of the group saw male figures fighting and a female figure that seemed to be the cause of the fighting.

In the cellar area some of the group reported strange smells and light anomolies and the group heard possible footsteps on the cellar stairs and doors being slammed… tall figures dressed in robes that were chanting.  We placed a trigger object on the staircase as it has been previously reported that a ball is thrown down the stairs – unfortunately we didn’t have any success with this experiment.

In summary, the group enjoyed the vigil but were slightly disappointed that we weren’t able to capture any evidence or experience the level of possible paranormal activity that we have previously encountered.  Obviously, this is the nature of paranormal studies and we often find that no two events are the same!

Thanks again for allowing us to investigate and we hope to see you again later in the year“.

The central part of the building dates from 1500 with Victorian, Georgian and 1970′s additions.  The building has a reputation for ‘activity’ and people have recounted to us their ethereal experiences within the building.  For myself I have never felt anything scary or threatening but have always felt safe and welcomed within the building.

We look forward to hosting similar events in the future.

Jacquie