Hunt Close - Hammersmith and Fulham - W12. Who cares?

Anyone who is familiar with the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham appreciates that this is a barometer for the condition of the Somali community in the nation's capital and the United Kingdom as a whole.

This non-descript part of the borough has been a hot spot for simmering tensions between what has been as 'local residents' and the Somali community. So much so that things have taken a turn for the worse recently and it has been confirmed that members of the Somali community have been violently attacked. Two incidents recently have sparked the interest of the Police and the Hate Crimes Caseworkers in the borough; they appear to have been pushed into action. Their need to quell the rise in violence in Hunt Close has led to a change in approach. They now seek to engage members of the Somali community in the borough; to use as a conduit to understanding the concerns of the Somalis in the estate. The Police would also hope for a guide who can help them navigate a path towards closing outstanding criminal cases.

To this end, S.A.A.N have been contacted to help engineer this outcome. S.A.A.N sit on the Community Relations Group in the borough and are a key component in helping to develop a new strategy with the authorities with promoting social cohesion a key component. S.A.A.N would be more than happy in helping to be part of the solution rather than the problem; the Somali community is its key constituency. However, a piecemeal approach to solving a complicated matter would be of use to no one. To my surprise, I have found this to be the case.

From the Somali communities perspective, in Hammersmith and Fulham issues are of a fairly complex nature. Should the local authorities wish to revise their approach in engaging with this social group, they would have to consider the full gamut of reasons as to why matters have stooped to new lows. It is with some concern that our suggestion that a solution to the problem should involve the education, housing, youth services and health departments of the local authority was deemed unsuitable. The theory here being that casework should involve caseworkers and no one else. A criminal act involving members of a community requires immediate attention, this however is to the detriment of understanding the underlying issues and symptoms of the problem. Financial pressure, with a majority of borough councils having to cut costs due to the recession, also constricts the degree to which local authorities wish to act.

A meeting on Monday 2 August will take place to discuss our differing views on these matters and a post on this blog tomorrow evening will provide a summary of these discussions.