The Balsall Heathan - St. Paul's Community Trust

Balsall Heath
Dynamic
Youth Awards
2013
The second Balsall Heath
Dynamic Youth Awards were
held at Balsall Heath Church
Centre recently and saw a record
number of residents celebrating
the achievements of young people
over the last twelve months.
Among the apologies from special
guests unable to attend was
former local resident and now
Deputy Lord Mayor of Plymouth,
Councillor Chaz Singh and Prime
Minister David Cameron who
stated, ‘It is hugely important that
we celebrate the good deeds of the
community’s young people and
create greater confidence amongst
young people so their confidence
and achievements are recognised’.
The young people were
nominated by the community
and judged by Peter Cole (Editor
Balsall Heathan Community
Newspaper), Councillor Habib
Rehman and Georgina Johnston
and Vanessa Purwel of the West
Midlands Police.
Abdullah Rehman of the Balsall
Heath Forum who hosted
the event said “They say each
child needs the care of a whole
community, not just its parents, to
grow into youthful maturity” That
saying was put into real practice as
the whole community celebrated
and applauded its young people.
Part of the evening was dedicated
to acknowledging the hard
work of community champion
Mr Javed Iqbal who recently
lost his battle against aplastic
anaemia. His efforts to challenge
vice on the streets over 20 years
ago and which helped change
Balsall Heath for the better were
celebrated through a posthumous
award presented to his family by
Birmingham Mail communities’
Crime is down in Balsall Heath
People living and working in East Birmingham are safer now than
at any time in recent history as latest crime figures show another
record fall in offending rates.
In Balsall Heath total crime tumbled by 9.5 per cent from April
2012 to March 2013 compared to the previous 12-month period -
with significant reductions in business crime, burglary and robbery
- and means victim numbers are at an all-time low.
Officers have been working hard to prevent prolific offenders from
POLICE, PARTNERS AND
PUBLIC COME TOGETHER
IN BIRMINGHAM EAST
Birmingham East residents may have noticed some new artwork
that has sprung up around areas such as Balsall Heath.
This is part of Project
Captivate - a new initiative
being carried out across
a number of locations by
police and their partners in
an innovative bid to improve
the area.
The campaign does not just
look at tackling crime but also
other factors which affect the
day to day lives of residents in the area, including the environment
they live in and the general well-being of its residents.
Project Captivate is a long term plan for the area which sees police
working with partners including Birmingham City Council, NHS
and local charities to make a real difference to the lives of the
people living and working there over the next few years.
Residents will soon be seeing the distinctive posters, mobile
advertising boards and leaflets the force are using to promote
the initiative in and around key areas in the Birmingham East local
policing unit.
editor, Paul Fulford.
Mr Fulford said of the event,
“Thank you for restoring my
faith in all that is good about
Birmingham”.
Group Winners
Blenheim and Brunswick Avenue
children
Hertford Street Group
Young Soldiers
Single Winners
Eisa Habibi
AbdulKarim Mahmood
Sonia Francis
Raja Aftab
DOWNTIME
at ORT
An art exhibition and socially
engaging project by artist,
lecturer and writer, Paul
O’Kane called ‘Downtime’
will run from 15th May to
19th June at the Ort Gallery.
Featuring the work of local
artists, ‘Downtime’ refers to
the precious and special kind
of time that is experienced
unexpectedly. There is also a
film screening on the 29th May
at 6pm called ‘Yes, it is L’Argent’
(1983) by Robert Bresson.
committing crime in Balsall Heath. In the last month two prolific
offenders have been issued with anti-social behaviour orders
preventing them from entering parts of Balsall Heath where they
commit crime.
Inspector Rachel Crump said: “We are reducing crime with the
help of the local community and partners. We are also focusing
on offender management, targeting those offenders who regularly
commit crime in the area.
“We will continue to work with residents and partners to make a
difference where it really matters, our communities.”
The artwork which was funded by Birmingham Community Safety
Partnership, features the strapline ‘Your streets, our priority’ and
urges people to visit the local Birmingham East policing website
for more information and to get involved with what’s going on in
their community.
Chief Inspector Helen Kirkman who is in charge of the initiative
in Birmingham East said: “This is a real opportunity for us to work
with residents and our partners to really make a difference to the
areas that we have recognised need some extra support.
“So far, there has been a real diverse range of activity carried
out in areas such as Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook ranging from
community clean up operations to officers working with children
in schools. This initiative is truly led by the community to the point
that they even decided on the Project Captivate name.
“We can only succeed and get the best results possible if we work
together and we hope that that continues and grows.
“We would urge people to visit our website at www.
birminghameastpolice.org.uk to see what work has already gone
on and get in touch if you want to get involved. Whether it’s
volunteering your services at a community clean up or just sharing
your views with us, we want to hear from you.”