London troubles: follow-up in Tottenham

The  Community Assistance Centre at the Tottenham Green Leisure Centre closed on Friday evening.

People affected can now get help from Victim Support between 9am and 5 pm Mondays to Fridays. Their phone number is 020 7336 1777 and they are equipped to steer people to specialist agencies as required.

A Council leaflet giving general advice can be found at http://www.haringey.gov.uk/emergency_advice_leaflet.pdf

I'd like to join many others in saying how grateful I am to the very many people who came to the aid of the victims of the riots. The army of street-sweepers, the piles of supplies at the Centre and the multitude of people who got it ready for distribution are testimony enough to that.

Not only have their efforts given help where it was urgently needed; they have also shown the true face of Tottenham to the world. (I myself saw film crews from France and from as far away as Australia reporting the cleanup last weekend.)

The goodwill which has been engendered will be invaluable as the work of rebuilding continues.

Finally, I'd like to say how pleasant it was to be working side by side with fellow councillors from both parties. It turned out that Zena Brabazon and I made quite an effective team with broom and shovel!

David Schmitz

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Harringay Ward