By Keith Hebden, former Leicester Citizens Organiser. There are two ways to stockpile and panic-hoard; the right way and the wrong way. The wrong way has been well-documented and has led to shortages of food, hand-sanitizer, and – most famously and mysteriously – toilet paper. The second way is what’s keeping my mental health above … Continue reading A survivor’s Guide to Stockpiling

By Pete Rogers, Citizens UK Organiser in Nottingham  A few summers ago I started going to my local gym. I'd not long turned 30. My impressively fast metabolism which had until that point in life enabled me to eat whatever the heck I wanted was beginning to slow down,  and for all of my wife's … Continue reading Beyond the Founders – A Journey Towards Reorganising an alliance

By Joy Faulkner-Mpeho* I have been a youth worker for 12 years, which is my whole adult life! My degree is in youth work and applied theology and I’ve had the joy of working with young people in both rural and urban contexts, spending the last decade working with young people in London. As a … Continue reading Learning by doing: An Organising Summer School

By Diane Vanette, OneLA leader with Temple Emanuel* Diane shares about the dangers of soft money and the action that OneLA ran over the summer of 2019 to raise $200,000 through dues. There are times when we get so caught up in changing this world from what it is to what it should be we … Continue reading “(Hard) Money Matters”

Thank you for the really insightful comments and reflections shared with me by a number of organisers and leaders, many of which have been incorporated into this piece. Saying ‘thank you’ is a vital part of human interaction. When we say ‘thank you’, we recognise a kind/generous deed that someone else did for us. We … Continue reading In organising, we don’t say ‘thank you’

Big housing wins are still possible. At a people's assembly this week, 235 leaders from Waltham Forest Citizens, working with Waltham Forest Council, have agreed to ensure that thousands of social homes are built in the borough by 2022. Waltham Forest Council will build 1400 social rent homes and work with developers to build another … Continue reading What a victory! Rebuilding social housing in East London

By Alistair Rooms I have recently been witness to the excellent work of a Catholic Parish in Forest Gate[1], disorganizing and re-organising. This deep organising work built a strong internal structure which has allowed us to convince London City Airport to change their policy on low-wages. Here are the lessons I learned. To disorganise and … Continue reading Lessons from Dis-organising and Re-organising: A Catholic Parish in Forest Gate 

  Reflection at the Passover Seder Table I have just been reading a book called ‘Thinking Institutionally’, by Hugh Heclow. It is all about the role of institutions in our lives and how they shape us. Tonight, we forgo the new and innovative, and ask what we owe to the past, because this is the … Continue reading The institution of the telling of the Passover story

by Jeannie Appleman, April, 2019 Most of us have been shaped by fearless women. I know I have. Two women in particular have had a profound impact on me, causing me to rethink my mission in life.  They shared with me their triumphs over adversity, and challenged me to act on my passions.  They modeled … Continue reading Honoring two fearless women who shaped me

Article inspired through a conversation of 5 institutional organisers in the Midlands and London  in March 2019 By Daniel Mackintosh Definition: radical – ‘advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme or progressive section of a political party.’ Conservative – ‘averse to change or innovation and holding … Continue reading Institutional Organising – Both radical and conservative