Somali Slough community invited to drop-in evening
Members of the Somali community in Slough are being invited to attend a drop-in evening on 19 June, run jointly by Slough Borough Council and Thames Valley Police.
The event is an opportunity for Somali people living in Slough to access information from a variety of service providers on issues such as education, housing, community safety, crime, social services and health.
There will be stands manned by representatives of key local authority departments, the police and the primary care trust, as well as organisations from the private and voluntary sectors. Interpreters will be on hand, and leaflets will be provided in various languages.
The aim of the event is to reach some of the more recently arrived, vulnerable or isolated members of the Somali community, who may not be accessing services through the traditional routes due to language difficulties or other issues. There are believed to be between 3,000 and 5,000 Somalis living in Slough, based on estimates by community leaders and National Insurance registrations.
Ch Insp Dave Parker, deputy commander of Slough local police area, said: “This event builds on previous partnership work aimed at helping other new communities in Slough, in particular the Polish community. Over the past year, there have been several successful drop-in events for newly-arrived Polish residents, and we hope this approach will provide similar assistance to the Somali community.
“Slough police area has contributed some funding towards the event, and I will be there to talk to people, along with members of the neighbourhood policing team and our specialist Community and Diversity team. We hope as many people as possible will take this opportunity to get to know their local officers and find out more about policing in their area.”
Anne Farmer, community safety officer at Slough Borough Council added: “This event is important to ensure that our Somali community know what services are on offer, and how they can be accessed.
“With so many people moving to the town in a short space of time, it is vital that they are embedded into the life of the town, and know where to go if they have a problem or need help.
“I am really pleased so many organisations are involved in this event.”
Slough Borough Council