Mitzvah List

I’ve hit the Port. I am on my second bottle of the festive season. Now, don’t be horrified, we began our festive season in late November with Chanukah. And this was the blog I was going write at that time. I had planned to send out a Mitzvah or blessing everyday to show my gratitude to the wonderful people who support us.

That never happened.

Work, fried food and covid got in the way and revised deadlines like ‘Disabled History Month’ and then ‘The end of the school term’ came early (thanks again ‘Covid’) and went.

So here it is!

Our last blog / newsletter / spam mail for 2021!

We are counting our blessings and we are grateful to the councillors of Haringey council who support us and have now fully embraced the concept of coproduction.

Special mentions go to the Leader of the Council Peray Ahmet whose dedicated herself to the concept of production not only as Leader but also as Chair of Overview and Scrutiny.

Deputy Leader Mike Hakata who has listened and taken on board our views on LTNs and our love of Haringey Parks.

Cllr Brabazon has championed Changing Places and we were delighted to go to the opening of the one in Finsbury Park with Cllr Kirsten Hearn – she loves the roundabout does Cllr Hearn!

Thanks are due to David Theakston who leads the lovely parks team who are dedicated and tireless in their efforts. We love Haringey Parks. Love them. Love them enough to die for them? Enough to die without them, probably. A regular visitor to our local park, Elizabeth Place, is Cllr Isidoros Diakides, who is a strong supported of our local community alongside Cllr Makbule Gunes.

Cllr Seema Chandwani is a massive supporter of the whole of the Tottenham community and she has been a champion for disabled people though her work on blue badges, dedicated bays and she is Queen of the Bins and Trees. She is a familiar contributor to those of us in the Tottenham Rise Facebook Group, where I think she is adored. If she wasn’t before, she was after her swift action over the ‘Tesco Spikes’.

We give thanks for Councillor Pippa Connor, who is a stalwart supporter of carers and regularly attends the Abide carers coffee morning.

We also give thanks for the Lib Dem children’s spokesperson Cllr Tammy Palmer supported by Josh Dixon on Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel who both play a vital role in ensuring that SEND families are supported and scrutinise policies and performance along side the panel members led by Chair Cllr Makbule Gunes.

For the festival of Channukah candles are lit over eight successive nights to symbolise the miracle of one night’s worth of oil lasting for eight nights.

The Markfield Project, Haringey who need help finding £4,000 funding to run special play sessions for groups of up to 8 children and young people, aged 5 to19, who have severe/complex physical disabilities, including paraplegia, complex health needs, profound and multiple learning disabilities and life-limiting conditions.

Originally set up by Jo Roach do that her daughter could keep cycling after moving in supported accommodation, PedalPower need £10,000 to help fund new bikes for learning disabled people to run sessions at New River, White Hart Lane Tottenham

Brightstars who won the European Diversity Award for Community Project of the Year was set up with money from the personal savings of parent carer and Woman of Substance Vida Black.

Haringey now has a Changing Places in Finsbury Park! But what you don’t know is that Changing Places an organisation set up by two mums who demanded with no apologies that their children be treated with the dignity and respect that we all have every right to expect when we go to the loo! Changing Places like people to get involved in their campaigning through running local campaigns ( we do that!).

This year we blogged about Rett Syndrome, Advocating for better outcomes for people with Rett Syndrome is another charity set up by parents Rett UK . Go to their website to see how you can support them.

Sometimes you just need a break from all this campaigning and advocating. This year Cllr Brabazon suggested we ‘zoom-along’ to the Abide carers group coffee morning. We had a fantastic time, which you can read all about on our pages. If you feel inclined to support the coffee morning, contact organiser Sue Hessel directly via this link.

How much do we love Haringey HealthWatch ? Seriously, it is no secret that we admire Mike ‘he retired so now has 2 jobs’ Wilson, ‘new Mike’ Jane East and the lovely Val who ran Transitions Reference Group. Well, HealthWatch have some secrets (shush – it’s just for over 50’s). Having saved our lives and loved ones and got us all vaccinated and sent us our medicines in the Pandemic, we ‘discovered’ (they didn’t know they were lost) Haringey Circle. We LOVE them. This is the sort of thing that carers need. They do activities and walks, a magazine AND ‘At Home’ Services – someone came round and did the ‘odd-jobs’ that as carers we never ever have time to do. If you are over 50 you must JOIN HARINGEY CIRCLE.

And last but absolutely not least, we love London Black Cab taxis . Now, you probably all know the urban myth about London Black Cab Taxis not charging kids going to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Well, it’s not an urban myth . So, should you feel so inclined, you might like to donate to the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children.

Each and every one of the above have been an blessing to us in 2021
And we give them all our heartfelt thanks