Editor's choice May 2008

The Community Warden scheme

by Abdullah Rehman, Neighbourhood Warden

The Community Warden scheme has been going on for some 8 -9 years now and the wardens have changed over the years, yet the job more or less remains the same. However, we constantly get stopped by local residents and asked what exactly do you do?

I will try and explain. In a nutshell we are a link between the community and the service providers. We help those residents who have come up against a brick wall trying to sort their problems out. These problems range from housing issues to benefits issues down to rubbish being dumped on their streets. Rubbish we often report to the city council. Or, if all else fails, we pick it up ourselves. Many of the other issues come from elderly or vulnerable residents who cannot cope on their own.

An example of this is an elderly resident who was living in appalling conditions and was ignored by various organisations, and his house was so bad that no one would go inside. In short we ripped out his carpet, laid out a new one inside his house, cleaned and mopped his kitchen and gave him a fridge. Most of the items were donated by good neighbours, and some local businesses who on hearing of the elderly resident’s plight could not understand how he was living like that in this day and age.

I would sincerely like to thank Mr Adib and his brother Mr Khalid who at that time donated the fridge and contributed to changing the life of this individual.

We are constantly trying to change our area’s environment and increase our resident’s standard of living and quality of life. However, we can only do so much. Maybe someone on your road needs help. The suffering goes unnoticed unless we keep our eyes open. Just let us know.

If we do one thing more than another, it’s to help people to feel safe. We help the local Fire Service to get referrals for smoke alarms, work with housing officers and monitor peoples’ housing conditions. We help at residents meetings, take children to and from school on a walking bus, mend locks, gates and fences. You name it we do it.

If there are any more Adibs or Khalids out there who want to make a difference and become more active please come forward and we the wardens will support you in making the lives of those on your road better.

Remember in years to come we may need a good neighbour to help us through our vulnerable times. We are only asking people to do unto others what they would have their neighbours do to them.

Make a difference and come forward.