20/02/2012 Inside Out East Midlands


20/02/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 20/02/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Tonight, Inside Out is at Cotmanhay in Derbyshire. Coming up in the

:00:04.:00:08.

next half hour, join the queue. Fuel poverty pushes more people

:00:08.:00:11.

onto the breadline. When you see people coming through

:00:11.:00:14.

the door and you see how they are dressed and you realise that,

:00:14.:00:17.

actually, they are used to a better lifestyle, but they have been

:00:17.:00:21.

reduced to this. It's sad. Also tonight, what's it really like

:00:21.:00:26.

to live somewhere with such a terrible reputation?

:00:26.:00:30.

When we first came 25 years ago, we had friends in the Nottingham area

:00:30.:00:37.

and they said, "Are you sure you want to go there?" And saving our

:00:37.:00:41.

coral reefs. The Nottinghamshire filmmaker on a mission to promote

:00:41.:00:51.
:00:51.:00:56.

One in four households are said to be in fuel poverty, spending more

:00:56.:01:01.

than 10 percent of their income on trying to stay warm. Tonight,

:01:01.:01:04.

charities here in the East Midlands tell us that more people than ever

:01:05.:01:07.

before are making uncomfortable decisions about whether to heat or

:01:07.:01:17.
:01:17.:01:19.

eat, and where to get the basic supplies from to survive. Food

:01:19.:01:22.

parcels have become a lifeline for some you would least expect to be

:01:22.:01:32.
:01:32.:01:36.

It's lunchtime in Loughborough in a part of town that is one of the

:01:36.:01:43.

most economically deprived areas of the country. 40 or 50? Nearly 50.

:01:43.:01:46.

Twice a week, Joseph's Storehouse offers a lifeline to some of those

:01:46.:01:51.

most in need. Will I do one? Yes, a bag of pasta,

:01:51.:01:59.

some fruit juice, a carton of fruit juice. Just one.

:01:59.:02:02.

Judith and her volunteers started by helping a dozen people, now they

:02:02.:02:08.

hand out 25,000 food parcels a year. The number of families has doubled

:02:09.:02:13.

in the last year. That has been the biggest shock to me, seeing the

:02:13.:02:17.

number of families rising. And it's not the same families that come

:02:17.:02:21.

Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everything here has been donated. Churches,

:02:21.:02:31.
:02:31.:02:34.

members of the public, the Who will we see today? Who will you

:02:34.:02:38.

see today? Gosh, everybody - families, mothers coming with

:02:38.:02:48.

pushchairs, fathers coming to pick up for their children as well.

:02:48.:02:50.

Homeless people, people recently unemployed, people out of prison,

:02:50.:03:00.

we will see a sample of every body today I should think. Many are

:03:00.:03:03.

known to the volunteers at the Storehouse, all have to prove they

:03:03.:03:06.

claim benefits. More than ever before are in fuel poverty. Some

:03:06.:03:12.

have walked miles to get here. have got one family who comes from

:03:12.:03:14.

Kegworth, another family that comes from Shepshed, another comes from

:03:14.:03:24.
:03:24.:03:31.

Mountsorrel. Why do you come here? Basically, I'm on low income and

:03:31.:03:34.

have a lot of health issues and the extra food helps me with putting

:03:34.:03:37.

extra electric on. The electrics runs away. I can't afford to keep

:03:37.:03:40.

running it. I've been coming here for about three years. I was

:03:40.:03:45.

embarrassed at first because I have always worked. But we couldn't

:03:45.:03:54.

We are seeing more and more of the people who I would pass by in the

:03:54.:03:57.

street and never think they would have to come somewhere like this.

:03:57.:04:00.

That's a very humbling thing to have to come here.

:04:00.:04:04.

Bruce had a long career as an entertainer. Now he is a full-time

:04:04.:04:08.

carer. It's really been circumstances for me. My daughter

:04:08.:04:15.

has special needs, and my wife has contracted an illness. I've had to

:04:15.:04:21.

rely on income support, so it's been very helpful to me.

:04:21.:04:25.

This might not look a lot, but for some people, it really does make

:04:25.:04:27.

the difference between having something to eat or not, or having

:04:28.:04:37.
:04:38.:04:47.

Alyson and her husband Fred both have serious health problems and

:04:47.:04:53.

live on benefits at a council house in Woodhouse Eaves. She was an

:04:53.:04:58.

office assistant, he was an engineer. We are definitely living

:04:58.:05:03.

in fuel poverty. We regularly spend 20 percent of our income on gas and

:05:03.:05:09.

electric. That's not running it 24 hours a day, that's keeping it to a

:05:09.:05:13.

minimum. Three years ago, they spent around �40 a week on gas and

:05:13.:05:18.

electricity. Now that has almost doubled. Last year, when it was

:05:18.:05:22.

really cold, I was going to bed in a hat and scarf because there was

:05:22.:05:30.

ice on the inside of her bedroom window. It was terrible. It makes

:05:30.:05:37.

you feel like you're not a part of society. The things we get from

:05:37.:05:39.

Joseph's Storehouse now means that we're not having to spend that

:05:39.:05:44.

extra money buying those bits. Having that little bit extra can

:05:44.:05:54.
:05:54.:06:04.

Things in here are the basics. Pasta, jars of coffee that some

:06:04.:06:07.

people might think of as a luxury, but it's something people really

:06:07.:06:09.

like. On the outskirts of Leicester,

:06:09.:06:11.

another charity is making good use of surplus stocks that

:06:11.:06:14.

manufacturers and the big supermarkets cannot shift and are

:06:14.:06:18.

happy to pass on. It's still perfectly good quality food which

:06:18.:06:25.

is fit for human consumption. Which is our basic criteria. All this

:06:25.:06:31.

would have ended up in landfill. Some of the food we saw in

:06:31.:06:41.
:06:41.:06:43.

Three years ago, FareShare Leicester distributed 40 tonnes of

:06:43.:06:50.

food. Now that amount has trebled. Over the last four quarters, we

:06:51.:06:58.

have distributed over 120 tonnes of food. If you think of the

:06:58.:07:01.

articulated lorries that we see on our roads each day, that is

:07:01.:07:09.

equivalent to filling six of those completely. For many people, there

:07:09.:07:12.

is still denial of the extent of poverty and food poverty in this

:07:12.:07:22.
:07:22.:07:25.

At Age UK's flagship building in Leicester, it is lunchtime too. The

:07:25.:07:28.

food is not in short supply, but for many it is the warmth that

:07:29.:07:34.

tempts them in. You will get people here from first thing in the

:07:34.:07:40.

morning looking for a hot breakfast and a cup of tea. They may go into

:07:40.:07:43.

town for some shopping and come back again for their lunch.

:07:43.:07:46.

aware are you that some of the people are coming here to keep

:07:47.:07:50.

warm? You get to know your regulars and the people that come here for

:07:50.:07:52.

different reasons. Looking around the room, I would suggest that

:07:53.:07:56.

there are an increasing number of those that are coming into us to

:07:56.:07:59.

stay warm so that they can keep their houses warm at night rather

:07:59.:08:09.
:08:09.:08:11.

As well as a hot meal, Clarence House serves up support, activities

:08:11.:08:21.
:08:21.:08:25.

and friendship to some of the most Every day, six days a week, 1,000

:08:25.:08:30.

people come through the doors. often ring our offices very

:08:30.:08:34.

distraught, very worried that they are not going to be able to pay

:08:34.:08:37.

their bills. As they are talking through the problem, they are also

:08:37.:08:42.

talking about the effect it is having on their lives. They are

:08:42.:08:45.

cutting back on food, not keeping the house nice and warm to the

:08:45.:08:50.

level of warmth it should be at. They are not going out any more,

:08:50.:08:52.

socialising, and it is helping affecting their health and well-

:08:52.:09:00.

being. How much of a worry is that to you? It is a big worry because I

:09:00.:09:05.

am on the basic pension. How do you manage to keep warm? I have to keep

:09:05.:09:12.

one room warm. And you stay in that room? Most of the time, yes.

:09:12.:09:17.

Hypothermia is a real problem. is yes. If some of those people go

:09:17.:09:24.

into hospital, the sad truth is, All the places I have seen rely on

:09:24.:09:28.

goodwill and generosity. Much of the help is volunteered and the

:09:28.:09:32.

food donated. There is little doubt that without it, life would be even

:09:32.:09:39.

worse for those who are already finding it tough enough.

:09:39.:09:42.

clients of our member groups are very honest to say that if it was

:09:42.:09:45.

not for the food from FareShare, their cupboards would be empty,

:09:45.:09:51.

they just do not know where they would get their next meal from.

:09:52.:09:55.

When they say they do food parcels for the poor, we come into that

:09:55.:10:04.

category. It is kind of shaming to have to admit that you are poor.

:10:04.:10:06.

FareShare Leicester and Joseph's Storehouse in Loughborough plan to

:10:07.:10:10.

expand to meet demand. I have been absolutely amazed at how generosity

:10:11.:10:17.

has increased as times have toughened up. Even if somebody just

:10:17.:10:21.

brings along a bag with a few tins in it, it will make a difference in

:10:21.:10:31.
:10:31.:10:35.

Thanks to everyone who spoke so openly about how fuel poverty

:10:35.:10:38.

affects them. Now we are in Cotmanhay in Derbyshire because,

:10:38.:10:41.

frankly, it has a poor reputation and we wanted to discover what it

:10:41.:10:44.

is like living in a place that has been branded an undesireable area.

:10:44.:10:54.
:10:54.:11:00.

We have been finding out what Reputations are easily achieved,

:11:00.:11:10.
:11:10.:11:23.

Terrible place. It has got quite a When we first came 25 years ago, we

:11:23.:11:27.

had friends in the Nottingham area who said, "Are you sure you want to

:11:27.:11:35.

This is the gateway to Cotmanhay. You don't pass through, it's a

:11:35.:11:39.

dead-end. Check through the archives and the only time the BBC

:11:39.:11:44.

have come to film here has been to report bad news. Usually crime,

:11:44.:11:53.

arson and drug abuse. But also tragedy. A child from here lost a

:11:53.:11:56.

family in a ferry disaster in the 1980s, a man died in a gas

:11:56.:12:06.
:12:06.:12:07.

explosion in the '90s. Cotmanhay Cotmanhay used to be a village,

:12:07.:12:17.
:12:17.:12:28.

then the coal mines came. They were gentlemen miners. I worked at the

:12:28.:12:31.

collieries and if ever ladies was there and the men was coming off

:12:31.:12:35.

shift or going on, there'd always be one of the miners shout, "Mind

:12:35.:12:38.

your careful words." And then there was the iron works. Homes were

:12:38.:12:41.

built for the workers. They still call this the new estate. Hopewell

:12:41.:12:46.

Farm was built in 1946. We've got a frequent bus service here.

:12:46.:12:49.

Professor Irene Hardill is one outsider who knows Cotmanhay well.

:12:49.:12:53.

She's written about the community here.

:12:53.:12:55.

There was a crescent of shops serving this particular community,

:12:55.:13:04.

but by 2004, all the shops were abandoned. This particular housing

:13:04.:13:13.

estate has got no facilities The people here had resisted

:13:13.:13:20.

industrial decline. They lost. Today, there is no big employer. It

:13:20.:13:29.

is the most deprived place in Derbyshire. Well, it's a feeling of

:13:29.:13:36.

being forgotten. No facilities here. Obviously, things have been put

:13:36.:13:41.

into the community, we've got Sure Start. But when it comes to

:13:41.:13:44.

services, there is a remarkable lack of them.

:13:44.:13:48.

But the professor says the people in Cotmanhay make a big difference.

:13:48.:13:52.

You do not have to be here long to realise a lot is going on. We

:13:52.:13:55.

stumbled across the Bright Street laundry, the only laundry in town.

:13:55.:14:02.

A lot of our clients are in their 80s or 90s. We have had them,

:14:02.:14:07.

thankfully, at 100 years old. There aren't the launderettes any more,

:14:07.:14:10.

but if there were the launderettes, the elderly haven't got the people

:14:10.:14:20.

to say, "Could you take this washing and have it done for me?"

:14:20.:14:23.

The fact that we do the delivery service, we probably are the only

:14:23.:14:26.

people that they see during the day. Trevor, the driver, might be the

:14:26.:14:36.

only person they see. We are a It's part of a charity called

:14:36.:14:39.

Community Concern Erewash set up 20 years ago during a recession to

:14:39.:14:45.

help people who may be housebound or struggle to get around. Struggle

:14:45.:14:52.

to do things most of us take for granted. They paint all the fences,

:14:52.:14:57.

which I used to do myself, gravelled all the garden. They come

:14:57.:15:02.

and do my shrubs up. It's the simplest things now. I can't get

:15:02.:15:06.

down on my hands and knees, the same as I used to. It annoys me

:15:06.:15:13.

because I can't get down and do my garden. I had a new carpet last

:15:13.:15:19.

year. What was I going to do, what about the furniture? They'll do it.

:15:19.:15:23.

They installed extra smoke alarms for me. I just rang up and it was

:15:23.:15:32.

What they are doing is keeping people in their homes and out of

:15:32.:15:39.

care. You give something to those that may be lonely.

:15:39.:15:42.

This is a recruiting session for new volunteers to give their time

:15:42.:15:45.

to people in Thanks to everyone who spoke so openly about how fuel

:15:45.:15:55.
:15:55.:16:14.

There is no shortage of willing helpers. They already have more

:16:14.:16:18.

than 60. You just want to give your time. We all do. I think if you

:16:18.:16:21.

just look after number one, it's a very selfish attitude. They also

:16:21.:16:24.

provide a chance to get work experience and give a feeling of

:16:24.:16:27.

being involved. And this. That's good, Andrew. Is that your front

:16:27.:16:30.

door? That is brilliant. I do a painting class. Andrew paints their

:16:30.:16:33.

Christmas cards and helps in the office. Mark helps out with the

:16:33.:16:36.

laundry deliveries. I will work out the order. The numbers are all down

:16:36.:16:38.

there, so you take charge. helping out delivering laundry,

:16:39.:16:42.

taking it round for customers. I really enjoy it. It is nice to be

:16:42.:16:49.

out visiting. We are going to keep going and we will keep delivering

:16:49.:16:53.

the service to the people who need it. This is the annual meeting of

:16:53.:16:56.

Community Concern Erewash. They hope it will not be the last, but

:16:56.:17:01.

the funding they rely on has become exceptionally difficult to get.

:17:02.:17:04.

majority of our funds are from putting in funding applications to

:17:04.:17:12.

grant funders, not from public authorities. That is the issue for

:17:12.:17:18.

us. We are competing against other organisations to go for the same

:17:18.:17:22.

pot of money, but there is more of us trying to get it. I don't know

:17:22.:17:26.

what we would do if we were to close. A lot of people would suffer.

:17:26.:17:29.

Without this organisation, the bottom line would be that there

:17:29.:17:32.

would not be a voluntary service and 65 people would be lost in this

:17:32.:17:40.

area. It frightens me to death. It frightens me now. Because I can't

:17:40.:17:50.
:17:50.:17:52.

do things. The weekly luncheon club is

:17:52.:17:55.

something else they organise. A welcome roast. It is a social thing

:17:55.:18:05.
:18:05.:18:10.

as well. I've been coming since a year at Easter. It's important

:18:10.:18:13.

because people are vulnerable and a lot of them are lonely. If they do

:18:13.:18:17.

not come out to us, they may not see anybody for a week. The only

:18:17.:18:20.

people they see are when they come here. For those who can't get out,

:18:20.:18:23.

it is delivered. We are here to help people. Through this recession,

:18:23.:18:27.

we will still be here, by hook or by crook. From what might look as a

:18:27.:18:31.

place that's been abandoned, there is also a great deal of self-

:18:31.:18:34.

reliance. In other words, the big society is happening. Bottom-up

:18:34.:18:38.

self-help before the big society was being talked about. Venture to

:18:38.:18:43.

the foot of the hill and another surprise. A community farm in a pub

:18:43.:18:49.

car park. All I know is it all started when my boss started

:18:49.:18:56.

hatching chickens and ducks. She's got a few ducks. Totally voluntary.

:18:56.:19:06.

Totally community led. Not a formal But you can't get away from the

:19:06.:19:11.

dereliction and empty spaces left by demolition. The lack of anything

:19:11.:19:20.

for young people is stark. There's nothing for them. I think that's

:19:21.:19:27.

why they... Even the community centre.

:19:27.:19:31.

There is ambition. They want to start a children's football team if

:19:32.:19:38.

they can get the funds. You suspect, if there is any community where the

:19:39.:19:42.

people will make something happen, it is here. We want people to be

:19:42.:19:50.

reconnected. We want people in Cotmanhay to feel that they matter.

:19:50.:19:54.

We have got to know everyone here. Wherever we go, they always stop

:19:54.:20:04.
:20:04.:20:05.

and talk to you. People do not want to live anywhere else. People are

:20:05.:20:15.
:20:15.:20:22.

friendly and they will help you. Anybody will help you. The people

:20:22.:20:25.

of Cotmanhay proving you can't judge a place by its reputation.

:20:25.:20:28.

Now when you hear about disappearing coral reefs on the

:20:28.:20:31.

other side of the world, it's easy to think that there is little we

:20:31.:20:35.

can do to make a difference. But one woman felt she had to and what

:20:35.:20:38.

she did has had an impact from Nottinghamshire all the way to Fiji.

:20:38.:20:40.

Anne Davies meets an inspirational conservationist determined to save

:20:41.:20:45.

our oceans. We've had the Ice Age, the Iron Age and the Bronze Age.

:20:45.:20:55.
:20:55.:21:04.

Plastic is polluting our planet and I had an opportunity of sitting at

:21:04.:21:09.

the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Permanent Forum. It was my

:21:09.:21:12.

first exposure at 18 to serious human rights abuses and human

:21:12.:21:22.
:21:22.:21:27.

But I didn't know things were that bad to that extent. I was angry

:21:27.:21:32.

because I'd got this idea that this world was actually OK. And it is OK,

:21:32.:21:41.

but it also isn't. It's a myth. You have to want to look below the myth

:21:41.:21:48.

and once I did, you can never go back.

:21:48.:21:49.

Nottinghamshire film maker Emma Robens was so affected by the

:21:49.:21:52.

plight of so many indigenous peoples and the plight of the

:21:52.:21:55.

planet that she spent seven years on Fiji working with the locals and

:21:55.:21:58.

making films, including the award- winning documentary the Coral

:21:58.:22:08.
:22:08.:22:10.

Gardener which has and is, still, being shown, across the world.

:22:10.:22:14.

The key is that you use that time and that process as a way of

:22:14.:22:19.

creating awareness in the most inspiring way possible. I think

:22:19.:22:28.

that's where some of the best But it doesn't stop there. Emma has

:22:28.:22:31.

brought her passion about the environment back home, back to the

:22:31.:22:37.

East Midlands. Which is why we find ourselves here in the middle of an

:22:37.:22:42.

eco-farm in the beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. And

:22:42.:22:50.

it's where it's all very much about Now in partnership with Farm Eco in

:22:50.:22:52.

Nottinghamshire, she has begun a new initiative, a festival called

:22:52.:22:58.

SELF. Everybody put your hand in there and touch it. It aims to show

:22:58.:23:01.

local schoolchildren how to value the natural resources we have

:23:01.:23:06.

through a day of unusual and fun activities.

:23:06.:23:13.

What we do on the land is affecting the ocean. Just because we can't

:23:14.:23:17.

see underneath it, we live in this world where we only look at what we

:23:17.:23:21.

can see. So we have to think about things we can't see. And that is

:23:21.:23:25.

what they do here. They learn about all the things they don't normally

:23:25.:23:35.
:23:35.:23:42.

see and connect with them. What do we breathe in the air that's all

:23:42.:23:46.

around us? Oxygen. What do you think you have found out about the

:23:46.:23:49.

environment? That it is quite important that you look after it

:23:49.:23:54.

because it helps us. What have you got there? A tree trunk. For fuel.

:23:54.:23:57.

You've got fuel. Last year, about 500 children came

:23:57.:24:00.

to SELF. It stands for Sustainable Environmental Living for the Future.

:24:00.:24:04.

That concept is Emma's passion and she has managed to pass it on to

:24:04.:24:09.

the kids. I had a teacher say to me the other day, "Emma, you have

:24:09.:24:12.

engaged the unengageable." I thought that was quite funny!

:24:12.:24:18.

Whether it is true or not, I don't Wow, look at this. Look at these

:24:19.:24:25.

stones. I think these are peace stones. I'll have to sit in on this

:24:25.:24:33.

one. Think about running through the fields in beautiful sunshine.

:24:33.:24:36.

Wrap yourself in your favourite blanket and sit in your favourite

:24:36.:24:42.

chair and that wonderful red makes you feel loved.

:24:42.:24:45.

As well as conservation, part of the SELF festival is to help the

:24:45.:24:50.

children find their inner selves. The peace tent where they created

:24:50.:24:52.

peace stones for school gardens helps them challenge their stresses

:24:53.:24:59.

and anxiety. Emma says, teach the kids to care about themselves and

:24:59.:25:06.

each other and then they'll care Emma has even managed to inspire a

:25:06.:25:14.

young designer to love coral. her the other day and she was, like,

:25:14.:25:17.

"I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this," but she said,

:25:17.:25:21.

"after meeting you, you're so passionate, so mad about it, I just

:25:21.:25:24.

feel on fire." I was like, "Great! Are you going to join us then?"

:25:24.:25:34.
:25:34.:25:36.

"Yes!" That's when you inspire people and they do what they do.

:25:36.:25:42.

From the scarves, money goes back to coral conservation. In Fiji,

:25:42.:25:44.

Emma has joined forces with the eminent scientist and

:25:44.:25:49.

conservationist Dr Austin Bowden- Kerby. His project, Corals For

:25:49.:25:52.

Conservation, will hopefully help save the corals, not just in Fiji,

:25:52.:25:58.

but across the world. It's her film, the Coral Gardener

:25:58.:26:04.

that's a big part of that message. If the corals are gone, the fish

:26:04.:26:09.

have nowhere. If you take all these trees out, where will the birds

:26:09.:26:12.

live? Birds need trees. Fish need corals.

:26:12.:26:21.

Local people will grow new corals on special tables on the ocean bed.

:26:21.:26:25.

They can then be used to replenish the dying reefs and also can then

:26:25.:26:27.

be harvested and exported for the vast aquarium trade with the

:26:27.:26:31.

profits going back to the local coral farmers. I was educated

:26:31.:26:34.

through the indigenous people and the people that I helped about the

:26:34.:26:36.

importance of sustainable livelihoods and the reconnection of

:26:36.:26:44.

nature to business. By the time I met Austin in Fiji, I saw his

:26:44.:26:52.

project and I saw the potential in The first batch of this sustainable

:26:52.:26:57.

coral has just been brought over to the UK. A fantastic achievement and

:26:57.:27:02.

something that Emma has been working towards for years. I think

:27:02.:27:05.

the most exciting part of the coral gardening project is the fact that

:27:05.:27:10.

it is a new profession. You have a gardener that gardens your land,

:27:10.:27:15.

why don't you have a gardener that looks after your sea? With aquarium

:27:15.:27:17.

hobbyists that have these wonderful tanks in their houses that take

:27:17.:27:20.

great pleasure from looking at coral and fish in their front room,

:27:20.:27:24.

for them to know that that coral has been grown by someone on the

:27:24.:27:27.

other side of the planet and that it has contributed to their lives,

:27:27.:27:35.

it is a wonderful connection. With 7 billion human beings on a

:27:35.:27:38.

planet that is made up of 70 percent water, it is no surprise

:27:38.:27:48.

that our very existence impacts hugely on the ocean. What else can

:27:48.:27:51.

we do to not use so much plastic? How realistic is that children who

:27:51.:27:55.

live in landlocked cities will make sure that there is a future for our

:27:55.:28:00.

ocean wildlife? I was a bit shocked when I saw a movie with all the

:28:00.:28:07.

plastic bottles in the water and then the whales were eating them.

:28:07.:28:12.

think we should stop putting plastic in the water. All projects

:28:12.:28:15.

that run, wherever they are, if you can inspire the individual to take

:28:15.:28:19.

it on board and you don't have to do follow-ups and you don't have to

:28:19.:28:29.
:28:29.:28:41.

chase them, then you have achieved Well, Emma is filming in Fiji at

:28:41.:28:44.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS