BLOG: My Community Day in the City

Tuesday 3rd September 2024

I opted to sit outside at Kell’s Café on Hinckley Road, in the Westcotes area of Leicester at the start of my Community Day in the City, which gave me the opportunity to chat to passers-by.  Everyone was friendly and happy to chat – except one lady who was hurrying to get to work.  The general view was that the area was generally a great, lively place to live or work.  But there were some concerns that the empty bank opposite was attracting crime and anti-social behaviour. I made a note to ask about that.

Then it was off to Beaumont Leys to meet with the representatives of the Beaumont Leys Muslim charity, Mohammed Hoche and Zakaria Zaini. We met in the Home Farm Neighbourhood Centre, a most impressive building that had clearly once been a very grand private house.  The magnificent wooden staircase was a visible reminder of faded past glories.  We had a very productive chat about anti-social behaviour in the area, along with some more serious thefts.  My hosts were also concerned about the recent outbreak of disorder and rioting in areas outside Leicestershire.  They praised the actions of Leicestershire Police in communicating clearly with community groups and countering misinformation being circulated by a small minority of people intent on stirring up trouble.

My next call was to attend the Peer Mentor Graduation Ceremony organised by the Turning Point Charity.  My office funds much of the work done by Turning Point to rehabilitate drug or drink addicts, moving them away from a street lifestyle and can so often lead them into petty crime and serious health problems. It is very important work and I was keen to see it first-hand.

After some very moving examples of lived experience from those who had been on the streets but were now in recovery, we moved on to the graduation ceremony itself.  I was interested to learn the stories of over two dozen individuals who had been addicted to drink or drugs but who were now working with Turning Point to mentor those still on the streets and move them into a clean lifestyle.

I had been hoping for some free-range time in the City centre at this point, but the ceremony overran so it was straight off to the Peace Centre in Thurncourt Road.  Local councillor Abdul Osman had alerted me to the fact that there had been an attempted break in and burglary here, so I was paying a visit to see how the centre, its staff and users were coping.

I met with Mohammed Lockhat, who showed me that the damage had been repaired, using funds raised from the local community.  Rather more long term was the damage to confidence of the staff working in a building that had been targeted in this way in an otherwise peaceful neighbourhood.  We then had a long chat about the community work done by the Peace Centre, including a food bank and various outreach projects.

My next appointment was my own training for a charity event that I am participating in. I'm taking part in LWA Strictly! I'll be learning two dances and performing them live on the 16th November (tickets will be on sale later in the year)!  If you want to support a good cause, you can donate to support me and Living Without Abuse charity - they support local women, men and children who have experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence - https://lwa.enthuse.com/pf/rupert-matthews-8477a.

Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland