Hastings is No Place for Hate
PAUL McLAUGHLIN
Hastings Town Hall Community Hub hosted a free event earlier this month (9 March) to help raise awareness of efforts to tackle hate crime within the town. Hastings is No Place for Hate was organised by the LGBT+ Community and Service Support in conjunction with Hastings Heart and Sussex Police to promote local services that are available to help and support local organisations in dealing with the consequences of hate crime.
Chloe Cameron, a local Neighbourhood Policing PCSO, says: “Hate crime comes in many different forms and strikes at the heart of communities. With the help of the public, we can tackle those responsible for hate crime and keep our communities safe.”
Sally-Ann Hart, the local Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, and Helena Dollimore, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate, were enthusiastic supporters of the event. They were joined by Mayor Margi O’Callaghan, who said the Council and the people of Hastings were “ready to help anyone who has been affected by someone else’s prejudice, ignorance, or violence”. She urged people to learn how to spot a hate crime, report it, or get help, support and advice.
James Thomas, a local Police Community Support volunteer, says he was “extremely pleased that Sussex Police and the service and community support organisations had come together to showcase the support and safe spaces available in Hastings for the growing LGBT+ community.”
He says he had experienced homophobic abuse in the town three years ago and was determined to help LGBT+ people share their experiences and to give them a voice and the confidence to report hate crime and to understand the support available. “I am proud to be part of the team that has bought this event to life.”
Hastings is No Place for Hate followed a similarly successful event held at the De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill last October, and Kim Batty, the co-founder of Hastings Heart, said she was “really excited” to host this event in the Community Info Hub, adding that “Hastings is for everyone and there is no place in our town for hate crime.”
Those involved in Saturday’s event included: the Hastings and Rother Rainbow Alliance, Transpride Hastings, Hastings Voluntary Action, LGBT+ Switchboard, Eggtooth, Allsorts, Mindout, Victim Support, Hastings Rother Rainbow Alliance, Hastings Trans Pride, Hastings Pride, Hastings Therapy Centre, St Michael’s Hospice Queer Bereavement, Warming up the Homeless, Hastings Book Festival, Hastings Book Shop, Hastings Voluntary Action and i-Rock.
To report a hate crime, contact Sussex Police on 101 or 999.
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