Active Citizens - Mayflower 400 visit - January 2020
The Active Citizens visited Southampton in preparation for “MAYFLOWER 400” – the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower leaving Southampton for the New World in 1620.
The Active Citizens are pictured here in front of the Mayflower Memorial in Southampton. The monument is currently undergoing restoration in time for the day of the anniversary.
The Active Citizens started their round of meetings again in the autumn of 2015. The Group is a Working Group for Eastleigh Borough and Romsey MENCAP, representing the views of people with learning disabilities.
This year we were pleased to visit the Hindu temple in Northam and to learn about Hinduism. None of the group or support had any experience of this religion and we were fascinated by the rituals but
also by the similarity in beliefs held by the main religions.
Safer Places Scheme
The main focus of the work of Active Citizens in the Autumn 2012 was Safer Places again. The Group organised a second launch of the Safer Places Scheme in the Southern Parishes with Pauline Spiers
in November 2012 and Chris Huhne, then our MP, came to open the Launch and to talk about the importance of the scheme.
The whole Safer Places Scheme was handed over to the Community Safety Partnership at Eastleigh Borough Council in December 2012 by Pauline Spiers. The CSP are maintaining the scheme, though the
Active Citizens are still taking an interest and promote the scheme whenever the opportunity arises.
Safe Places
The Safer Places scheme provides safe accessible places for people to go to if they become scared, confused, lost or upset while out and about in our communities. Safe places are easily identifiable
by the yellow logo displayed as a window sticker.
On December 10, 2013 the Active Citizens were invited by the Mayor of Eastleigh, Councillor Malcolm Cross to his Parlour for a celebration and the launch of the new
Safer Places Map of Eastleigh Borough.
Safer Places Map Launch
The map was designed within the Council but was funded by the proceeds of a Coffee Morning that the Active Citizens organised in early 2012. The map shows the 57 shops and
businesses within the borough of Eastleigh which have agreed to be part of the Safer Places Scheme.
The Safer Places Scheme in a nutshell:
A “Safe Place” can be a shop or public building which has the Safe Place sticker in its window. Any vulnerable person can join the scheme and will be given a Safe Place Card to carry. The card states
clearly “I NEED HELP” and has space for two phone numbers of people that the individual can trust. If the person is distressed, they can look for a Safe Place sticker and give their card to a member
of staff in the venue, who then calls one of the numbers on the card, to bring help to the card holder.
For further information contact the Eastleigh Borough Council Community Safety Partnership 023 8068 8080.
Contact Us: email: info@ebrmencap.org.uk .. Phone: 07799 370043 Registered Charity Number 263620