Change Matters - The Social Unity Campaign.
'Our watch word is liberty, we will, we will, we will be free.'
The Tolpuddle Martyrs
I have long hoped that there would be change in our society. Change for what I perceive to be a better more tolerant society. One where all people are treated equally, but for this to arise we must consider where our troubles lie. We offend the offended, intern the interned, imprison the imprisoned.
Pleading for help comes in many forms and people show their distress and anxiety in many ways.
As someone who has worked among the homeless and those with emergency housing needs I know that an individual's issues run deep. And yet the way we deal with such issues does not resolve the problems people are confronted with, nor prevent them from heading down a path of self-destruction, as their issues are not dealt with appropriately.
The reason for this is that an abused mind knows torment and chaos and unless treated correctly will spiral out of control. People think they know this, and worse still, they believe they understand this.
Treating an individual's problem is far better than treating them as though they are the problem.
By helping people recover their dignity you help society, by leaving them to suffer you increase the suffering in society. If the body is infected you would spend time to find out the problem and cure it, you would not let it fester so the disease spreads to other parts of the body. That in principle is what societies do; they still view certain people as though they are unclean and treat them in a manner more befitting the ancient use of the ostracon.
People with the ability to introduce real change talk as though the institutions are in place to help those through their troubled times, and there are some real and genuine heroes out there who are swamped by the task they face. Unfortunately if society were a house then as most people are aware, treating cracks in a superficial manner does not prevent the house that is subsiding from collapsing.
And throwing money at a problem that involves genuine human issues does not resolve those issues.
Everyone is important and has value, no matter what their station or circumstance in life. That is why to have true progress in getting disadvantaged people out of the quicksand and mire of despair they find themselves in needs an understanding of their emotional and physical problems. It needs specific mentoring for specific problems, imagine a healer, when healing the body they would not heal that part of the body that is well but direct themselves only to the part that is sick.
We must concentrate and focus on the illness. When the body is sick we treat it until it has recovered, and yet with society we do the opposite; we feed those parts of us that are already well nourished, and starve those that are already starved.
It is time to heal our society so that there is no longer inequality, injustice and unaccountability. People require proper mentoring so that they can fulfil their potential, and for this to occur they need to be given hope; one that says that there is a future worth having and worth living for.
The Requirement for appropriate Mentoring, Guidance and a Community invested in its society.
People talk of life choices as though such words are the answer to an individual's behaviour. People that make the wrong choice usually do so due to their circumstance, and have often suffered some duress which has incarcerated their minds. Have you ever asked yourselves why there are more people with mental health issues today than ever before? And heard the answer that we lead more stressful lives than ever before; this is only partly the case, individuals are more isolated than ever before, and more inward looking, so much so that they blame others for their circumstance, and this is done to such an extent that we have lost our sense of community.
And care in the community though a noble idea has been unsuccessful in dealing with the vast number of people that need help. Our communities feel more separated from each other and not part of one another than ever before in their history.
And because we live with social groups within social groups, when people with real issues make mistakes; the answer society comes up with is to imprison them. We in principle confine those that are caged within the torment of their own minds. The result of this causes the individual to become more uncontrollable and more rebellious.
People are often surprised by the lack of self-discipline and respect others have.
If an individual is brought up by authority figures, whether they are their parents or someone who they have met in social care, and those people have treated them harshly then they associate all authority figures they meet after with being unjust, as the injustices they suffered from childhood are held deep within their psyche and will affect their attitude later in life.
If there is no justice or compassion in the home when growing up, then it is logical that those that were treated harshly will not show compassion or reason when their characters have formed, but behave in a fractious, seditious, and disloyal manner to other authority figures. They will give their loyalty to whatever subgroup they attach themselves to within their smaller society.
Proposal
Our aim is to make a better life not just for one of these individuals but for many such persons who feel isolated and disconnected from our society. To do this we need to create a more social, inclusive and productive society which takes the best of what we can be and turns it toward the benefit of all. We need to create centres where people can find sanctuary, can recover their community spirit and self-worth, as in principle what they are suffering is in principle a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
To help their recovery we must establish real Community Recovery Centres.
We need people to believe that they are a part of society and not apart from society.
There are certain things young socially deprived people can do such as apprenticeships, or persevering in education to become part of a more inclusive society. Unfortunately too many have their strength and courage crushed from a young age, so much so that they do not believe the things they can achieve are attainable.
Solutions to these problems
The right mentoring, and the opening up of institutions that are proper retreats for people in genuine need of care, where they can meet the appropriate guides, tutors and teaches to show and support their learning of a trade that will sustain them for the future, and where they can meet with the necessary doctors, nurses, psychologists, to help with their more personal and psychological needs. This will give those who have had hard and difficult lives real hope for a better and brighter future free from the disadvantages and the chaos they were caught or grew up in.
We must enable people to learn trades or have an education that will help them have happy and fulfilled lives this will require empathy as we shall treat people on an individual basis and get to the core issues that made them what they are.
We shall encourage life skills and social skills, to give people the opportunity to create a work life environment conducive to productivity and an individual's life balance.
The leap forward and the vision for what can be done
Each settlement must be self-sufficient. We shall use the most sustainable techniques available so that what is put in place is there for generations to come.
Our settlements shall be known as Community Recovery Centres and they will span the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. They will enable the weak, vulnerable and destitute to recover from the physical and mental challenges that they have grown up with.
They shall be places of hope and charity, calm and refuge. Where people can shed the problems and troubles that have hindered their growth and potential.
These centres shall be places where people can learn a new trade and be part of a caring open community where the fundamentals of integrity and hope are nurtured, and where the destitute and deprived may rise to fulfil their potential.
I hope you will realise this vision with me and put your name to a petition that sets out the need for such Community Recovery Centres which use genuine modern methods to help people out of adversity.
Founder of the Social Unity Campaign - David Papa-Adams
Any petition that has 100,000 signatories will be set before Parliament so let us all be invested in change, and hope for our society and our future.
Please sign the Petition
We the undersigned to make a more equitable and just society wish to participate in and promote Community Recovery Centres. To give a future to those who are destitute and poor. A future free from vice and hate by providing hope and charity to those that need it most.
