6. ‘Saheli/Friends’ – Balsall Heath Forum

This excursion will lead you to the base principles and inspiration of R4R: the Balsall Heath Forum. Our friends (‘saheli ‘ in Punjabi) over there will show you how they transformed the Balsall Heath area and how they organise their work. You will get a look at the Balsall Heath area and they will tell you about the green team, the woman’s fitness centre and the Bloom of England.

A little history
Balsall Heath was a white working class neighbourhood close to the centre of Birmingham. Then the planners got to work, knocked 30% of the houses down, built some high rise blocks and broke up the old community. Many residents moved to outer ring council estates, leaving space for newcomers from the West Indies, Africa and the Indian sub-continent. The newcomers were isolated and lonely. Crime and prostitution spread until by 1980 over 450 prostitutes and 30 pimps dominated the street corners.

Twenty five years a go, a few intrepid people formed a ‘Building a Better Balsall Heath’ campaign. The leading lights included representatives from a Mosque, Anglican and Methodist churches, and a voluntary organisation. In 1992, there were no employees. Today, the voluntary elected committee employs 20 people. The Forum now both represents the local voice to the public and private sectors and undertakes a variety of tasks with the help of its staff and an array of volunteers. It is rearranging the way Balsall Heath is managed and governed. It is enabling more and more local people to improve the quality of local life.

www.balsallheathforum.org.uk

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