Gypsy/Traveller Education & Information Project North East

Gypsy/Traveller Education & Information Project North East

The project from the outset also recognised the importance of working and building relationships with the public authorities and others in the voluntary sector – it is only through partnership and collaboration that services and support for and with Gypsies/Travellers can be realised.

GTEIP is a unique voluntary organisation on the Scottish scene dedicated to providing support and services to and with the Gypsy/Traveller community in the north east of Scotland. The multi-agency committee has been an effective vehicle for identifying and exploring ways of addressing the range of issues Gypsies/Travellers face. The committee comprises representatives from the Gypsy/Traveller community, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils (both Elected Members and officers), Aberdeen Foyer, Careers Scotland, Grampian Police and NHS Grampian, together with two independent members (including myself).

The project has been successful in working with Gypsies/Travellers and the authorities to address the issues Gypsies/Travellers face including those around accommodation, education, health, information, leisure and discrimination.

It ensures that the Gypsy/Traveller voice, perspective and experience are on the public authorities’ agendas and are heard by the settled community. One very successful partnership event is an annual Celebration of Gypsy/Traveller History and Culture – a very good way of raising awareness of the history and contemporary circumstance of Gypsies/Travellers. Often, people judge Gypsies/Travellers based on the very negative media presentation, but the Celebrations give people an opportunity to hear directly from and speak to Gypsies/Travellers – for many, the only time they have done so. As one participant said “They are just like us!” – it was a revelation to learn that Gypsies/Travellers are like the settled community who, generally, are trying to get on with their lives and do the best by their families.

A number of factors have contributed to the success of the project.

The staff team is committed and able and has now built up a solid trust with the Gypsy/Traveller community and are effective support and development workers.

The multi-agency committee has been an effective vehicle for raising and getting action on Gypsy/Traveller issues.

The unique nature and the extensive experience of the project have gained national recognition, and at the local level GTEIP is acknowledged as an effective and useful partner.

Gypsies/Travellers have benefited from a range of support and services which have improved their circumstance:

information and support on education, accommodation, benefits,

health etc

women’s and other adult groups responding to needs such as help with literacy (including support through driving theory tests)

a range of pre 5’s, primary age, secondary age and older activities, both educational and leisure.

A number of key lessons can be drawn from the experience gained by the project:

At one time there was an Advisory Committee on Gypsies/Travellers set up by the then Secretary of State for Scotland which, in one of its reports, recognised that Gypsies/Travellers do not have a history or tradition of organising or forming groups. Rather, Gypsies/Travellers tend to organise around the (extended) family and friendship groupings. One implication has been that involving Gypsies/Travellers in the Board of Directors has not been entirely successful though there has been representation by a few Gypsies/Travellers for periods of time. To date, though, participation in the management committee has not been an attractive option. As an alternative means of ensuring that their voice is heard, GTEIP staff spend considerable time in discussion with a broad range of Gypsies/Travellers in our area to establish their priorities and how these can most effectively be responded to.

Gypsies/Travellers are arguably among the most excluded and disadvantaged groups in our society. Other such groups have a history and tradition of organising and this has meant the achievement of some gains and improvements. The absence of such organisation by the Gypsy/Traveller community means they do not have a consistent voice, pressing for improvements. The fact of course that many Gypsies/Travellers are itinerant also makes organising more difficult. It is also the case that services tend to be organised on a neighbourhood/area basis and this is not conducive to an itinerant community’s effective access to services and support.

It is vitally important that people understand that support to the Gypsy/Traveller community as an excluded and disadvantaged group is no different from the positive action taken to support other disadvantaged and excluded groups. The key difference is that Gypsies/Travellers are given a largely negative high profile.

We should be proud of the contribution to our culture and economy that Gypsies/Travellers bring, and remember that Scottish Travellers are our own indigenous ethnic minority.

GTEIP is an important information, support and development resource for Gypsies/Travellers in north east Scotland and beyond –we often get phone calls for information or support from all over Scotland and even further afield. In addition, the relationship between GTEIP and the public and voluntary sector agencies has been mutually supportive and beneficial. These partnerships have been effective in improving access to services for Gypsies/Travellers, and raising awareness of their culture and contemporary circumstances. Gypsies/Travellers are not a heterogeneous community – they are not all the same as is often presented in the media, and stereotyping along these lines is a key component of racism. The project has contributed significantly to the health and well being, confidence and capacity of individual Gypsies/Travellers, families and the communities generally to confront the negative attitudes of the settled community. Perhaps two examples will serve to illustrate this contribution:

the key role which members of the community have been able to play in the annual Celebration of Gypsy/Traveller History and Culture.

The important contribution community members have been asked to play by Grampian Police in recent Diversity Training organised for their Officers.

In both of these settings representatives of the Gypsy/Traveller community have been able to draw on the confidence, self-esteem and skills gained through involvement in GTEIP.