Mandeville, Manchester — Interim chairman of the newly launched Manchester Peace Coalition, Dr Clifton Reid, has called on business owners and employers to give sympathetic consideration to job applications from residents in so-called ‘troubled’ communities.

Speaking at this month’s meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Reid said that while he understands that employers must be practical, the solution should not be to exclude prospective employees solely based on where they live.

He said that the approach of his organisation is to find out the concerns from members of communities perceived to be at risk of portraying antisocial and criminal behaviour and try to address the needs.

“One of the things that we got coming out of Greenvale (a socially and economically depressed community) is that persons said ‘my address automatically disqualify me from getting a job’. We have to be practical, I understand that you cannot be in a notorious community and think that people are going to be extremely comfortable. But on the other hand, I think we as members of a chamber who have business and are employing persons need to be prepared to sit down and find an amicable solution to this…” he said.

Reid said that once members of ‘at risk’ communities are unemployed and have mouths to feed, they may choose to take a less-than-honest path to earn a living if they are constantly being shunned when they try to find a legitimate job.

To date, fifteen ‘at risk’ communities have been selected for interventions by the Manchester Peace Coalition: Greenvale, Comfort, Royal Flat, Barnstable, Heartease, Albion, Cedar Grove, May Day, Farm, Waltham, Three Chains, Georges Valley, New Green, Hatfield, and Brockery.

“The fact of the matter is, no matter how we talk in these communities, if we don’t in the final analysis provide jobs for persons… we are gonna lose. We have to make a difference in these communities. We have to make people feel that they have a stake in this country and what they do matters. While we need the very effective and efficient policing, we have to do something on the supply side,” Reid said.

For the Peace Coalition head, creating safer communities means understanding the needs of residents and trying to find solutions that aim at remedying the root cause of antisocial behaviour, building trust, and making available opportunities that can improve people’s lives.

The Manchester Peace Coalition was launched late last month.

Reid said that the impact will be felt by having different stakeholders on board to provide services, including guidance on family life, legal services, health care, positive interaction with the police, and skills certification, which will be necessary to ensure growth and development for the communities and residents.

The Peace Coalition initiative in Manchester is an extension of the designation of Mandeville as a Peace Town, and the Brooks Park Sports and Recreational Complex as a Peace Park three years ago by non-government organisation International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT).

The recent Chamber of Commerce meeting also comprised a presentation about the array of programmes offered by the HEART/Trust NTA that can be easily accessed, particularly as there is a mobile unit that can take the service into communities.

— Alicia Sutherland