2013 St Ann’s Holding Hands ‘Unity’ event criticised

By Richard Pearson, St Ann’s

Read Steve Green's letter here

“A former Chief Constable, Steve Green, said that when he was appointed, St Ann’s was a haven for drugs & crack cocaine, and the first shooting occurred in 2000. Killings followed. Mr Green said things would get worse before getting better. Now things have got better with crime down 27%, the organisers behind this year’s Holding Hands gala have shown a film which opens old wounds, and which youngers will seek to copy drugs supplying and gang culture, which is unacceptable.

“Also, to allow Kevin Redmond to walk round at the event pointing the finger at everyone with a camera, and calling them perverts etc. was bad behaviour; which has lead to lots of local people being offended.”

Renewal Trust statement 13/8/12

“Thanks to the amazing work of Rob Bird, a dedicated and committed volunteer, this year’s Holding Hands was a great success.

“The showing of The Chase film proved extremely popular and engaging, helping to highlight issues affecting the area. This film shows off some amazing talent within Nottingham and has a great potential. We wish it the best in its future distribution.

“This years event was special in that Richard Hawthorne after 10 years of commitment and dedication to Holding Hands will be stepping down as ‘Chairperson’ to spend more time with his commitment to Initiatives of Change and Hope in the Cities. You may or may not be aware that for the past 10 years the Renewal Trust have supported HH under its umbrella and after the success of this years event; mainly due to the dedication of Volunteer coordinator Rob Bird from STANNRA TRA the group are now looking into becoming a constituted group.

“The food bank raised £200 on the raffle and has now purchased a freezer – which means they will now be able to provide a wider range of food to their clients.

“We are really proud of this year’s event and hope everyone who attended had a fantastic time!”

By Robert Batey, Fojambe Terrace, St Ann’s

“In my opinion criticism of the organisers behind this year’s Holding Hands around St Ann’s event is justified, and should be aired.

The event which began in 1993, is meant to show & promote ‘unity in the community,’ and heal old wounds. However, this year the organisers appear to have done the opposite.  They knowingly allowed offensive language to be used by an individual to describe everyone who attended this year’s event with cameras and iPhones who took photo’s, including myself. So far no apology has been given to me or any other tenants & residents whose personal integrity has been attacked by them.

Also, organisers did show the sometimes violent film called The Chase at the event, which depicts, drug abuse, drug dealing, gangs, which is based on true events from St Ann’s past. I think this was divisive, and has opened old wounds from the areas past, which has tarnished the image of St Ann’s further. Yong adults of 12 years old and up will see this film and think its cool to copy what’s on screen, the drug dealing, gangs and violence. Copycat behaviour. This was a backward step in my opinion.”