To be disappointed in MN at the moment?

[Memoo]

Over the last few weeks myself and several other posters have started threads about the fact that Refuge are at serious risk of having to close their doors permanently.

Thankfully a few people responded and attempted to keep the threads bumped so that others would notice and come along and offer their support.

But guess what?

Hardly anyone came.

If I'd started a thread about breast feeding, or parent and baby parking spaces, or back yard dog breeders scores would pile in to give their opinions and before you knowing it the posts would be in the hundreds.

So why not on a thread about refuges closing down? This is the lives of women and children. Women and children who desperately need to escape the abusive situation they have found themselves in. Soon they will have nowhere to turn and what then? What fate are they being condemned to?

Another beating?

Another rape?

Death...?

I'm desperately trying to get mnhq to offer some kind of help so we can make ourselves heard. Please, please help me.

I spent time in many different refuges as a child. Fairly sure without them my mum would be dead.

Up for bumping. :)

Shit, sorry to hear that Memoo. I did hear on the radio that funds for women's refuge type charities were being cut because the tories are evil--.
I don't know what I can do to help, but I agree with you and your cause.

I don't know about mumsnet but people don't really care enough Ro do something about Bad Stuff unless it directly affects them, there's 3 wars going on which aren't in the news, millions of people suffering horrific things across the planet every day & our own government screwing the country into the ground and no one cares enough to say 'This is not ok, let's do petitions/protests and end this shut immediately'
The work of Refuge is vitally important and needs massive awareness and support.
A few years ago our Rape Crisis Centre had it's funding withdrew, it was £16,000. The council spent £16,000 that year on biscuits & tea for their meetings. Says a lot for what they think of one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Grrrrrrrrrrr

I could go and try to kick the shit out of some of the types dishing out the violence, give them a good double dose of their own medicine, the cunts.

Because its depressing, and people often use MN for entertainment. I have tweeted links to that story and encouraged people to sign petitions on Twitter and Facebook, but I don't necessarily want to spend my MN time discussing it. I don't think it's accurate to interpret a lack of engagement with an MN thread as a reluctance to support the cause.

And the fucking Olympics - a great big money pit :(

This is about saving the lives of women and children.

It's a shame but at the moment there are so many cuts going on and each cut will affect certain people more than others.

Also, I think (and I hate to say this) people are just fed up of hearing about and dealing with the misery of all the cuts right across the country.

It doesn't make it right, but it's a possible explanation for the apathy

I donated. But then I do anyway.

Refuge, Women's Aid and Rape Crisis get mentioned a lot as suggestions for posters in difficult situations. I wonder how many of those doing the suggesting actually make donations to any of those organisations. I hope it's all of them.

Making dying people do unpaid labour, forcing refuges for abused women and children to close.. New lows for the British government.
Is there a petition or anything? Protests? Do the general public not give a fuck? Or just 'oh l

Posted too soon.
There was no Refuge when I was a kid, we escaped to relatives homes. For the sake of many lives at stake this cannot be allowed to happen!

There are lots of shocking cuts going on at the moment, not just to refuges. I have read so many heartbreaking stories of cuts to services that help vulnerable people that tbh I tend to avoid them now. I have had my work hours cut in half - work in a charity - and as I am the main breadwinner we are tbh struggling too much to donate much to charity.

Bump.

Let's face it, pretty much every progressive group or useful social initiative is under attack at the moment. It's hard and exhausting to fight everything, not to mention extremely dispiriting. I don't think people are apathetic at all: I think they are OVERWHELMED. We need a revolution.

I'm afraid I'm the same as BOF. I've used RL me on fb etc. But not Mnet me.

I agree with the overwhelmed.

Yes I think overwhelmed is the word, rather than apathetic.

People are probably wondering where to begin and where it all ends.

As someone else said, you can't fight everything and there'll be people out there fighting cuts for the disabled (just one example) wondering why everyone's not vocalising their cause too.

Memoo - not been on MN much recently - rl taking over - so thanks for persisting: I hadn't seen your original posts, haven't listened to the news much either recently so had missed this entirely.

Happy to write to my MP again and to offer my support. Yes, overwhelmed with 101 things, but this deserves a place high up on the list . . . .

TBF memoo - I might be completely flamed and out of order here, but in the last few weeks people thought you'd posted a suicide note on here. It went nuts, people trying to contact you, bumping threads etc etc. My point is that you should understand that when the power of MN gets going, it really gets going.

However, perhaps everyone is doing things in their own way. My friends toddler died last month. Unexpectedly, complete tragedy. The spare cash that I have is going to sponsor someone completing a run in his memory. It's not that I care any less about people needing refuge; just that there are only so many causes I can support at any time.

Again, I don't mean to cause offence, but just to say that there are many strings to the MN bow.

I know it's exhausting. There are so many people suffering as a result of the cuts it's had to know where to begin. It's a desperate situation.

Donating is brilliant as is donating clothes, toiletries, toys etc to your local refuge.

I would also really like MNHQ to help us out. At the moment when they speak the media listen and Matthew Wrights researchers read the threads and then repeat the topic on the show It was suggested on another thread that we could get the CEO of Refuge to do a Mumsnet Q&A then we could find out how we can really help. there is a thread in site stuff asking hq about this, please add your opinion to the thread if you can.

I know everyone has got their own shit to deal with. God knows Im fighting my own personal battles too. But we cannot stand by and let this happen.

That sounds like a great idea.

Pacca, so sorry about your friends son xx

Bump

Thank-you. My friends' boy was only 19 months. Just horrible and heartbreaking.

Your post with some solutions genuinely sounds like a great idea. Especially WRT practical help.

Thanks for reminding people about what they can do. I will take some old stuff to the local refuge. Our refuge has only recently reopened after being closed for a bit due to lack of money.

Thread bump.