[Anarchafeminists] Public meeting on housing struggles in E London - Saturday 24th May

[Gail Chester]

Public meeting on housing struggles in East London - Saturday 24th May
Organised by: Feminist Fightback, Hackney DIGS, Plan C London
3-5pm, at the Common House, Unit 5E, 5 Pundersons Gardens, Bethnal Green, E2 9QG

ALL WELCOME, childcare provided.
Activities for children will start at 2pm with a banner making session for big and small people.
Want to help with leafleting for this? Email feminist.fightback at gmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/events/254266098090271/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
The Focus E15 campaign started with a group of women who live at a mother and baby unit in a hostel for young people in Stratford; all of the women are under 25 and either have very young children or are soon to give birth.

In September 2013 it was announced that the unit will close down as it was no longer being funded by Newham council. The resident mothers have beeen served with eviction notices.

They had been told that they would be rehoused in private accommodation. That would leave them vulnerable to the whims of private landlords.

These landlords (if they accept benefit claimaints at all) can raise rents whenever they like, on property where living conditions can be appaling and unsafe for children.

Because rents in London now often exceed the benefits' cap, the women have been told they could be re-housed outside London - in Hastings, Manchester, and Birmingham. Yet most of these women have grown up in Stratford, this is where they have friends, family, and support networks.

Now other residents of the hostel (which is specifically for young people) have been threatened with eviction. The campaign has widened and it needs our solidarity.

The campaign wants to stop the evictions and the right for all residents to stay in Stratford.

This meeting is for everyone who wants to show their support. For everyone who is campaigning on similar issues and wants to link up with others. For everyone who has had enough of the government's austerity policies on housing and benefits which, put through by local councils, are destroying so many projects like this and pushing people into desperate poverty and insecurity.

As one campaigner put it: "You're not tearing us apart from our families....we are fighters."

Together let's fight to win safe and secure housing and stop them breaking up our communities!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/anarchafeminists/attachments/20140501/31a7819e/attachment.html>