Work of a Local Organiser – Campaigner

A Q&A with Joe Troop – Trafford North & Trafford South Local Organiser

Part of Trussell Organising & Local Mobilisation Programme

How long have you been working with North and South Trafford Foodbanks, and what brought you here?

I have been working as a local organiser for Trafford North and Trafford South Foodbanks for about 18 months now. Prior to this job I was working as a primary school teacher, but was also quite involved in my trade union and so had some experience of workplace organising. The opportunity to work in Trafford, the borough which I live in, and to hopefully make positive change was an opportunity that was too good to turn down.

How would you describe your role here at the foodbank?

I like to think that my role is to try and identify some of the issues people are experiencing in our borough that are causing people to need to use foodbanks and then, working with people who have lived experience of those issues, campaigning for change so that fewer people will need to use a foodbank in the future.

What’s the Community Power Project, and how does it relate to the Trussell Trust’s commitment to end food poverty?

Trussell exists to ensure everyone in the UK can be free from hunger, providing emergency food and practical support while working to end the need for food banks, and the Community Power Project is one part of that. The work of local organisers like me involves identifying local issues driving poverty, building a campaign team, and developing a strategy to build power and win change.

Foodbanks offer more than just food – what other help can local people get through their foodbank?

Another really important service that foodbanks offer is financial inclusion advice. If you have been referred to either Trafford North or Trafford South Foodbank, you are also entitled to speak with a Citizens Advice advisor, who specialise in income maximization, debt management and budgeting support.

Let’s talk about the first of your three campaigns. What’s it all about?

The All Hours, All Voices campaign group was born when Andy Burnham and TfGM announced a trial removal of the time restrictions that applies to concessionary bus pass holders. These restrictions meant that older people and disabled people could not use their concessionary passes to travel on buses for free before 9:30am. We decided to campaign for time restrictions to be removed permanently.

What inspired you to choose this particular issue?

Disabled people and people with poor health are overrepresented amongst those forced to rely on food banks, and those aged over 65 have the fastest growth rate of any age group being referred to food banks. We knew that unrestricted travel would benefit older and disabled people’s independence, finances and social inclusion as well as improve access to employment, education and healthcare.

Did you talk to other local organisations to get help and advice?

We decided to pen an open letter calling for the trial to be made permanent and contacted a campaign group called Waterside Changemakers, who had experience in campaigning on this issue in Hampshire. They were incredibly supportive and helped us draft our letter.

Your letter was co-signed by 44 charities – how did you manage that?

Lots of phone calls and emails! Initially, I just targeted foodbanks in Greater Manchester, but then widened the net and contacted as many organisations or charities that were run by or advocated for, older people and disabled people.

What’s next on the agenda for this campaign?

Excitingly, we won our first campaign goal, and from April 1st this year, concessionary pass holders can travel for free on the bus at any time of day. However, All Hours All Voices is really passionate about accessibility to public transport in general, and our next campaign issue is to call for the introduction of companion passes for disabled people, so that those that need support to travel can do so with a personal assistant, family member or friend.

How can local people support you to push this issue forward?

We are held a week of action for National Carers Week, during which almost 2,500 letters were sent to decision makers advocating for the introduction of companion passes. Even more recently, we released a report making the case for Companion Passes in Greater Manchester, which you can read here. We are asking people to share the report with their local councillors and their MP, asking them to support the campaign. If anyone reading this would like to find out more (for example what to say when you email your councillors or MP), or maybe even attend a meeting, you can contact us on [email protected]

Watch & read more using these linked articles:  ITV News segment & the MEN article

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