Excluded from Group Economics

The one question I have is how black people are going be when it comes to practising group economics with disabled people in our neighbourhoods. For example, there is much free market doctrine going on when it comes to creating our own economies and setting up our own businesses but where does this leave disabled and marginalised persons, such as those who have just been released from prison or who have been out of work for a great amount of time.

On this site I have a page which looks at how people in the UK are able to get public support when setting up their own businesses or organisations, in the form of funding, advice or guidance . I would like to ask how many of the people who put out the idea of group economics have considered disabled persons and rehabilitating men and women who are socially excluded. Most rhetoric focuses on able bodied and minded persons, but what about those with learning difficulties or disabilities.

Would you employ them or would you consider at least providing them with work experience, prior to not understanding why we were locked up I would have been hesitant, but now I would say yes as they didn’t get a chance in the first place which is why they ended up where they were. Like every one most deserve a chance.

Most people with disabilities are the best workers and tend to be passionate as they unlike able bodies persons do not take having a opportunity to work or owning a business for granted, they are very reliable and with a little bit of extra work the work place environment can be tailored to their needs.

In the black neighbourhood there are black people with disabilities, within families, whether these be mental or physical. The black network is not sure how to deal with this as there is much talk and some programmes, which look at employing and enabling those returning from prison to be economically active. This cannot be said to be true of those disabled, as pointed our above some of us who are not disabled just discuss things from an able bodied and minded point of view.

I was having a discussion and thinking about some of the sources which I have used (see below) to write this blog and it occurred to me that black people have many mental health issues, but it is not recognised or is not dealt with sufficiently, whilst persons with physical disabilities are not considered nearly as much as those who are able bodies. If you were to consider developing black economics and neighbourhoods, only making a few adjustments to accommodate those with physical disabilities.

The greater effort would be whether or not support could be provided for those with mental health disabilities as they can be unreliable but this does not mean they would not contribute towards the black economy. A suggestion would be to encourage those with mental health disabilities to own businesses and then manage the periods where they are unable to work on their business and have a support network to ensure they can sustain themselves, where they are not very much economically active.

Sources:

Employing people with disabilities (www.entreperneur.com)

Hiring People with Disabilities (www.sba.gov)

Americans with disabilities

Hiring people with disabilities

Un-Healthy Food Utopia

Based on the fact that we have 40 + million of us in one country. By all accounts we should be eating a great deal better. It seems as though we have busy lives and not enough time to cook fresh food, though it should be a priority. As young and old are not receiving the required nutrition according to their lifestyles and they are eating convenient foods, which are high in fat and salt and are plain manufactured.

The approach to take would be to cook fresh which is easier said than done, though. people should look at the benefits of cooking meals from fresh which should include simple meals then more complex meals. Many of the people in America (especially in cities) are eating fast food three times a day rather than having it occasionally or very rarely.

The one thing which can cause this in a neighbourhood is the occurrence of food deserts where there is a lack of affordable supermarkets and markets in African American neighbourhoods. This leads to a less likely chance of there being homes and households which are cooking fresh foods, rather they will be cooking processed foods and take out food, which will mean there is an increased level of health problems, and mentally it will tire the community out.

In some cities and towns there can be supermarkets in the more affluent areas rather than the poor black ones, which just have liquor shops and 7 -11’s. More black owned business (where possible should consider opening a fresh vegetable shop or teaming up with migrant black people from the caribbean or Africa to get produce which can be imported to the US from those countries, which will at least place some fresh fruits and vegetables in black neighbourhoods.

The other side of the equation is when there are supermarkets there can be GM foods too, especially in the US. There is a need for non GM foods but this is available at a price as farmers markets offer organic foods but at an expensive price.

The black network, will on the whole in cities look for convenient ways in which to cook foods, and there is the other equation of there being people who work two or three jobs which means there is not enough time to cook a meal.

One other tip which black people should consider is eating less meat and eating more beans and grains such as lentils, beans and other pulses. Wholemeal versions of products are healthier though they will tale more time to get used to. Cutting out or reducing dairy and eggs where possible is important as products with this in has a higher percentage of fat compared to products without dairy or eggs.

Below are some tips on purchasing and cooking fresh foods:

• Cook for two days rather than one.
• If working many days and hours cook for four/five days and freeze the foods for when you want to eat it.
• Eat out less
• Buy Generic or shop brands
• Find Farmers and Ethnic Markets
• Purchase in Bulk
• Try eating Grains and less meat
• Eat less canned meats and fish
• Grow foods

If we can have a fresh food stall or store or even a small market, we can start to go back to our holistic roots eating fresh and having less health problems in our communities. The challenges we face include providing the information, getting the information noticed and then action being taken on this information provided.

Resources:

Healthy eating on a budget (www.choosemyplate.gov)

Eating well on a budget (www.helpguide.org)

Further Information:

Racial food deserts (www.hub.jhu.edu)

Food Deserts (www.foodispower.org)

Few healthy food choices in urban food deserts (www.foodsafetynews.com)

10 tips for healthy and affordable food (www.liveto110.com)

African and Caribbean food stores directory (www.eatjamaican.com)

List of Supermarkets (www.supermarketpage.com)

Film:

Soul Food Junkies (Youtube.com)