Medact North East Group Meeting
2023-11-08 20:00 - 21:00, 2023-11-22 20:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.
The group meets every two weeks. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.
Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.
Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

For more information or to join a meeting in-person, get in touch at northeast@medact.org. Register to receive the Zoom link.

[Registration has now closed]

Leeds: Migration is life! How do we resist borders in the everyday?
2023-11-11 14:00 - 18:00 | Middle Floor, 23-25 Wharf Street, Leeds, LS2 7EQ, United Kingdom
Join local migrant justice organisations & community groups for an afternoon of practical workshops on resisting the Hostile Environment, and a screening of ‘NHS Borderlands’.

We’re all Leeds aren’t we?

Whoever we are and wherever we come from, most strive to treat others how we want to be treated. While the people in power continue to show that they don’t care about us, we must show that we do care about one another.

Sign up on Eventbrite!

Local Leeds migrant justice organisations and community groups have come together to bring this afternoon of practical workshops to learn about how we can resist violent borders that have been brought into our everyday lives through the government’s cruel Hostile Environment policies.

PAFRAS, Racial Justice Network, Yorkshire Resists, Stop the Scan, Leeds Anti-Raids Action and Patients Not Passport will be sharing their expertise and practical tools for resistance as well as raising the voices of those who are subject to Hostile Environment policies. We will also be screening the award-winning Bare Life Film’s NHS Borderlands, an investigative documentary exploring the human impact of NHS charges on migrants. The short film explores the story of Angela, who fled persecution in Zimbabwe only to be subjected to Hostile Environment immigration policies in the UK and charged £8,000 for vital medical care.

This event is aimed at both people who are subject to immigration control as well as those who wish to learn more about how they can stand in solidarity with migrant communities who are coming under increasing attacks from both people in power and the far-right.

This event is ticketed and you will only be allowed entry with a ticket. We ask those who can afford to donate to bring a suggested donation of £10 so we can run further events for the community. Sign up on Eventbrite!

Medact Bristol Welcoming Evening + Talk on navigating climate anxiety
2023-11-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Cafe Kino, Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3RU, United Kingdom
Please join us for an evening of reflecting on our responses to climate change and climate action.

We are the Bristol branch of Medact, a nation-wide collective where health workers campaign on health and climate justice.

Sign up on EventBrite

Dr Liz Marks will be holding a presentation and discussion on her research on climate anxiety and eco-distress.

Liz is a clinical psychologist, clinical director and a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Bath. She is author of over 30 articles, currently focusing on people’s emotional responses to climate change. She co-lead the seminal 2021 global survey on young people’s feelings about climate change and governmental inaction. Liz is also an accredited cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness therapist and has been running climate cafes across Bristol and Bath.

The talk will be followed by a brief presentation about MEDACT, current campaigns and activity of the national and local groups.

This event will be an opportunity to meet and connect, reflect on shared values and ways of coming together to inspire and create change.

You will be able to get non-alcoholic drinks at the bar.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Securitisation of Health group: November Meeting
2023-11-20 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org

[Registration has now closed]

London Housing & Health meeting (in-person)
2023-11-29 18:45 - 20:30 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
Medact’s Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing.

This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

In this meeting, you will be hearing from the members involved in our work, get updates on our local organising work in North West London, and help us develop the next steps and identify potential campaigns in other boroughs.

You don’t have to be a regular member of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome. If you’re unable to attend meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, you can contact Jordi: jordilopezbotey@medact.org.

Register to attend below!

[Registration has now closed]

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing

Researching state violence: Deaths by Welfare x Criminalising Distress
2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30
For this edition of the Medact Research Network Quarterly meeting, we’re excited to welcome guest speaker Dr China Mills, who manages the Deaths by Welfare Project at Healing Justice London, to introduce us to this project and its impact and implications for health justice work.

Members of the Medact Research Network will then present preliminary findings from our Criminalising Distress project.

We’ll also discuss the parallels between the two—especially the violence of state neglect towards those viewed as a burden on resources. We think this is going to be a great event, so register below!

China Mills leads the Deaths by Welfare project at Healing justice Ldn – researching welfare state violence alongside those most impacted. She is committed to research practice that cultivates and restores dignity, belonging, safety, and that is abolitionist – in community with those harmed by state violence. She has published widely on state, and corporate, violence, structural oppression, suicide and mental health, and is the author of Decolonising Global Mental Health (published by Routledge). She is also a member of the Poverty, Power, and Stigma design team at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, working alongside people with lived experience of poverty.

[Registration has now closed]

Medact Groups check-in
2023-12-05 18:30 - 20:00
This is a space for people active in Medact local or issue groups to connect, to share collective learning from our organising—the challenges and successes and how we can support each other moving forward.

Ideally one or more people from each group can come along and represent their group, and the group representative(s) don’t need to be a coordinator: anyone who is involved is welcome!

As part of the check in, we would love for each group to spend two minutes sharing a few highlights from the last few months, any challenges you’ve had, and any plans you have coming up.

If you have any questions or would like to chat through anything, get in touch with Kate: katebernard@medact.org

[Registration has now closed]

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting: December
2023-12-06 18:00 - 19:30
Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group represents the longest standing aspect of Medact’s work towards nuclear abolition, and to address war, armed violence and conflict as global threats to health.

We will meet to provide an update on our ongoing work, and discuss the current global political landscape as related to nuclear weapons and disarmament. Register below to receive the meeting link!

For more info or with questions, email Sarah: sarahlasoye@medact.org

[Registration has now closed]

Medact Sheffield meeting
2023-12-07 19:00 - 20:30
Join Medact Sheffield for their last meeting of 2023 to meet group members old and new, catch up on current campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Heath for a Green New Deal and reflect on the last year of working together.

This meeting will be hybrid with the option to join in-person at a group member’s home in Upperthorpe. Contact the group if you’d like to attend in-person to get the address, or to get the Zoom link for joining online. Email sheffield@medact.org, and subscribe to the mailing list for future updates on group meetings and activities.

All Care For All People – A People’s Health Assembly
2023-12-10 11:00 - 17:00
Part of Healing Justice Ldn’s festival of events ‘Rehearsing Freedoms‘ (Oct 11 – Nov 11)

Please note this event has been postponed from November 11 to December 10.

This is a visioning and action session, which will support participants to build towards radical abolitionist public health. Taking place on the last day of the festival, this people’s gathering and assembly space invites us to collectively imagine what health for us all, as determined by us, looks like. The session will ground us back into the intentions of the overall festival, and will ask the questions:

– What is health, and what are the roots health grows from?– How does the state shape our health? What role might the state play in accessing health and healing – if any?– What might our visions of health look and feel like?– How can we rehearse and practise those visions right now?

This workshop will encourage us to think, feel, draw, write and play through these questions, building with all that has come before and inviting in new offerings. The space will be held facilitated by Kavian Kulasabanathan, Ben Eder, Dr Stephanie Davis, and Farzana Khan

This event will be BSL interpreted.

ICF @ Block 336336 Brixton RoadLondon SW9 7AA

Reserve your free place here

Securitisation of Health Group: December Meeting
2023-12-13 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org. This meeting will be hybrid with the opportunity to attend in-person at our office in Bethnal Green.

[Registration has now closed]

Health for a Green New Deal: December network meeting
2023-12-13 18:30 - 20:00
This is a space for people active in Medact’s climate & health work to connect and to share collective learning from our organising. This December, we will be sharing exciting updates about the power of the health voice in UK climate campaigning. This will include:

Inspiring stories & updates from recent campaigns including a successful campaign against airport expansion in Leeds, an ongoing campaign against waste incinerators on Teesside, and the People’s Health Tribunal .

We will also hear from our national campaign – bringing the voices of health workers in stopping oil & gas expansion in the UK- great opportunity to find out more and get stuck in!

Hear from campaigners and collectively discuss the power of the health voice in climate campaigning in the UK and globally

Everyone is welcome – whether you/your group is already active in climate campaigning, or just wants to find out more.

If you have any questions or would like to chat through anything, get in touch with Kate (katebernard@medact.org) or Maria (mariacarvalho@medact.org).

[Registration has now closed]

London Housing & Health meeting (in-person)
2023-12-21 18:45 - 20:30 | Medact, Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E1 5QJ
Medact’s EJ Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing. This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

Last month, Medact members joined tenants from across the country with the Healthy Homes Coalition at a lively protest outside the so-called Affordable Housing Awards in Old Trafford on Friday 17 November – a grotesque, self-congratulatory awards ceremony for landlords whose neglect is putting tenants’ health at risk.

Over the past few weeks Medact members in the London Housing and Health Group have been supporting a group of tenants in east London that reported suffering from health problems as a result of their housing conditions. After a session facilitated by the local tenants association and Medact, tenants decided to come together to campaign against their landlord to force them to carry out the necessary disrepairs. It has been a pleasure working with Fatima, one of the tenants, and Channel 4 to tell their story and how they are fighting back.

Meet other Medact members and health workers interested in our Housing & Health work, hear about our ongoing campaign and organising work and find out about how to get involved!

The meeting will be followed by a social in Dalston. Come join us!

[Registration has now closed]

You will be hearing from the members involved in our Housing and Health campaign, get updates on our local organising work in Harrow, news on our work with the Homes for Us coalition, and help us develop our next steps and identify other potential campaigns in London.

You don’t have to be a regular member of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome!If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign you can contact Jordi: jordilopezbotey@medact.org

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing

Health for a Green New Deal: Action Planning Meeting
2024-01-10 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-02-07 18:30 - 19:30
Want to join a movement of health workers fighting for climate justice? Join the next Health for a Green New Deal campaign Action Planning Meeting!

The Health for a Green New Deal Action Planning group organises national activity and supports our Health for a Green New Deal network. We meet every 2 weeks, on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, to discuss the current climate & health justice landscape and strategise how we can contribute to the wider movement.

You don’t have to have been involved before to get involved now—everyone is welcome! If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but are keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, get in touch. For more info or any questions, email Maria: mariacarvalho@medact.org.

Register below to receive the meeting link.

[Registration has now closed]

Nuclear Weapons Group January meeting
2024-01-15 18:00 - 19:30

Patients not Passports New Joiners Meeting: January
2024-01-16 19:00 - 20:30
Want to get involved in the Patients Not Passports campaign?

The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and connected with work going on across the country is to come to our next New Joiners meeting.

In this meeting we’ll explore how NHS charging works and how we can fight back, hear from some of the groups working on the Patients Not Passports campaign, and explore the different ways you can take part. To win, we need everyone working together to oppose NHS charging – you don’t need to work in healthcare to be involved!

If you can’t make the next New Joiners meeting, don’t worry! We can also make time for a quick phone call with you or connect you directly with your local group – get in touch by emailing jamesskinner@medact.org

[Registration has now closed]

Securitisation of Health group meeting
2024-01-17 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-02-15 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-03-07 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org.

[Registration has now closed]

Medact North East group meeting
2024-01-17 20:00 - 21:00, 2024-01-31 20:00 - 21:00
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets every two weeks. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. For more information or to join a meeting in-person, get in touch at northeast@medact.org. To attend online, register to receive the Zoom link!

[Registration has now closed]

London Housing & Health meeting
2024-01-25 18:45 - 20:30 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
Medact’s Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing.

This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

In this meeting, you will be hearing from the members involved in our work, get updates on our local organising work in North West London, and help us develop the next steps and identify potential campaigns in other boroughs.

You don’t have to be a regular member of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome. If you’re unable to attend meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, you can contact Jordi: jordilopezbotey@medact.org.

Register to attend!

[Registration has now closed]

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing

H4GND x Uplift Climate Messaging Workshop
2024-01-27 11:00 - 15:00 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
We are excited to partner with Uplift for a messaging workshop on health and climate justice.

Uplift are working to support the movement for a just and fossil fuel-free UK, including coordinating the Stop Rosebank campaign and the Warm this Winter Coalition.

Health workers are a critical part of the campaign against deadly fossil fuels, and the fight for a just transition to a new economic system that creates the conditions that people really need to be healthy and thrive.

This workshop will be a collaborative, participatory, fun session to bring together expertise from Uplift alongside the expertise of health workers in the HGND network to develop effective messaging for our national climate justice campaign.

The workshop’s outcomes will form the basis of messaging that we use to lobby MPs, speak to the media, and organise in our local communities.

This is a great opportunity to:

Learn about how to centre health in developing effective messaging to campaign for a fossil free UK and climate justice

Explore how we can make these messages relevant to our local communities

Build connections with others passionate about climate & health justice for campaigning together in future

Practicalities:

We really encourage people to join in person at Pelican House if you can. We have some budget to support with travel costs, and lunch will be provided! However, we will be running this as a hybrid event so there is an option for a small group of people to join online.

Registrations for this event have now closed.

Nuclear Weapons Group February meeting
2024-02-19 18:00 - 19:30

Medact Groups check-in: February 2024
2024-02-19 18:30 - 20:00

Securitisation of Health group training: Organising-centered campaigning and 1-1 conversations
2024-02-24 10:30 - 16:00 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
The Securitisation of Health group continues to grow, and we’re preparing for a strong year of continued resistance to the Prevent Duty and campaigning for an end to the duty in the NHS.

As part of this we are holding two in-person training days for group members (new and longstanding) to support the development of your campaigning and spokesperson skills. Information on session two can be found here.

Session 1: Organising-centred campaigning and 1-1 conversations

Co-facilitated by Medact’s Movement Organiser Kate Bernard, this session will define organising-centered campaigning and break down the methodology and value of having 1-1 conversations. We’ll collectively explore strategic and anti-oppressive approaches to organising and building-power, and take time to practice some of the necessary skills for a strong campaign. If you’d like to attend, please register by completing this google form.

Register for the session

About the group

Through research and campaigns, the Securitisation of Health Group aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here. If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org.

Nuclear Weapons Group: New Joiners Meeting
2024-03-04 18:00 - 19:30
Are you concerned about the catastrophic health and environmental consequences of a nuclear war?

Do you want to take a stand with longstanding members of the medical peace movement who are campaigning for nuclear disarmament, and the abolition of nuclear weapons altogether?

This meeting is the best way to get up to speed with the work of the Nuclear Weapons Group! We’ll provide a space for anyone interested in getting involved in the group’s activities to meet others, learn more about the state of global nuclear weapons, and explore the different ways you can get involved in our campaigns.

If you can’t make this, don’t worry! Our Peace and Security campaigner Sarah can make time for a quick phone call—get in touch by email at sarahlasoye@medact.org

Health for a Green New Deal: March Action Planning Meeting
2024-03-13 18:30 - 19:45
Want to join a movement of health workers fighting for climate justice? Join the next Health for a Green New Deal campaign Action Planning Meeting!

The Health for a Green New Deal Action Planning group organises national activity and supports our Health for a Green New Deal network. We meet monthly, on the second Wednesday of the month, to discuss the current climate & health justice landscape and strategise how we can contribute to the wider movement.

You don’t have to have been involved before to get involved now—everyone is welcome! If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but are keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, get in touch. For more info or any questions, email Maria: mariacarvalho@medact.org.

Register below to receive the meeting link.

[Registration has now closed]
