CATU News - Week 9 - Le Cheile + more

A chairde,

Welcome to the union’s 1st ever Leap Year newsletter 😱

We have some really important and interesting events coming up in the days and weeks ahead, starting with this Saturday. CATU will be participating in the Le Chéile rally alongside a huge number of organisations from community groups to political organisations, trade unions and thousands of ordinary people from across the island of Ireland.

Among the speakers on the day will be our own Aisling Hedderman and it all kicks off at 13:30 on Saturday from the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.

The theme of the event is Diversity not Division - we want to show a strong and unified opposition to the politics of hate being drummed by the far-right, and to present our own positive message: homes, health and rights for all.

Ahead of the event itself, a banner/poster making session will be held tomorrow (Friday) in the Unite offices on Abbey Street. This will take place between 14:00 and 16:00. It is not being publicly advertised but all members are welcome to join. Things that would be useful to bring along, if possible, include:

fabric, acrylic paint or posca markers
acrylic paint
paint brushes
large a3 card
fabric
wooden sticks/bamboo something to use for handles
staples/staplers
scissors
stencils
dust sheets for keeping surfaces clean

Lastly, please consider sharing details of Saturday’s event in your own networks, using the hashtag #DiversityNotDivision

See you there!

A new CATU Data for tenant organising project is launching this Sunday. Please come along if you're interested in how we can use data more effectively to achieve our objectives.

🗓️When: Sunday 3rd March, 11-4.30pm

📍Where: Teachers Club, Parnell Sq, Dublin 1

🔗Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGgh8MOAI4ysg3eZg9igviRwF7TAtiquZCDGG3Gbyluh0Guw/viewform?usp=sf_link

More info:

CATU are launching a collaborative working group with the Data Stories project at Maynooth University, on the theme of ‘data for tenant organising’. This meeting will explore how CATU can collect and use data to achieve its aims through a number of proposed research strands and introduce the Public Luxury board game concept. All members welcome! If you can't attend but are interested in getting involved please still fill in the registration form.

Agenda: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sn-ksMH5-tJ4Uz4SXQEbh5xVUz3oPRSE4n85UAh4UUE/edit?usp=sharing

CATU's website is getting a much needed update this year, with help from a couple of dedicated volunteers. Now we need you to have a look at it ahead of launch and send in your feedback/comments using the form below (which includes the link to the latest draft). This site is built by us, for us, so feel free to tell us how it would make your life easier.

https://forms.gle/QYGTsDgKTFUoh2nE8

It's still a bit rough around the edges in parts, but if anyone wants to help filling some of the gaps, contributing designs or writing copy please reach out to [email protected]

CATU Belfast secured another crucial win this week.

Our fellow member Nour and her family were being evicted by Mears in the Beechmount area of west Belfast and faced the prospect of homelessness.

This eviction was resisted with the support of local community groups and Nour’s neighbours.

Both demands, (1) to resist the eviction and (2) to keep the family in place until suitable alternative accommodation in Belfast is sourced, were achieved.

When our communities come together, we can and will resist evictions and stop homelessness.

A Mosney residents meeting will take place on Sunday from 16:30 in Sonairte, Laytown, Co. Meath.

The background here is that several Mosney Direct Provision centre residents are being evicted with only a notice of 6 weeks and no hope in finding homes in the area where they've been living and building community for years. IPAS and Meath Co..Co. don't even allow them access to emergency accommodation in the county. They are being faced with deportation to the other side of the island, often to tented accommodation, if they don't find a home in the next 6 weeks. We need to fight this whole system but in the short term we want the residents to be given more time to find housing locally. If you’re based locally, please consider joining the meeting or share the details with people you might know in the area. Building local support and a call-out group to protest these evictions when they take place are the first crucial steps.

In Solidarity_,

Naoise Faogáin
National Administrator
Community Action Tenants Union - CATU Ireland
www.catuireland.org