By East Marsh United hits back at ‘murder mile’ insult
Community group East Marsh United have hit back after another ‘local’ publisher referred to their area as ‘murder mile.’
On Thursday 27 October, police were called to Rutland Street in Grimsby after residents heard what is believed to be gunshots. The road was sealed off by emergency services and four men are currently in custody.
However, many have been left outraged after a nationally owned ‘local’ newspaper referred to Rutland Street and the surrounding area as ‘murder mile’.
East Marsh United carry out vital work in the area, such as taking empty houses and refurbishing them to a brilliant standard ready for families to move in.
In a blog post entitled ‘Murder Mile? No thanks!’ the group shares experiences from East Marsh residents about the local community and all the good work that the group carries out.
Josie Moon, East Marsh resident, said: “We had been out for the evening and got back to see the police cars across the street on the next block – and there were people out chatting on their fronts, everybody was very calm – people were like ‘shit happens but we’re all alright’. Seeing people out on the street and talking to each other, we need to do that more. But, to refer to a street as ‘Murder Mile’ demonises the residents and undermines community cohesion – it’s our street, our home, together.”
According to Reverend Kay Jones: “It starts with the housing – if people feel secure in their home and know that they have neighbours who care and landlords that care, then there’s security. What EMU (East Marsh United) are doing to change the housing balance will bring a better heart to everything. And then you have to think about this (EMU picking up litter together in our park on Saturday morning) – people who probably otherwise wouldn’t get together. But, we’re together because we all care about the park and what goes on in our neighbourhood. The possibility of bad things happening is reduced by the presence of good people, which also helps build positivity in the community.”
EMU also carries out litter picks, community choirs, tree planting schemes and safe spaces for young people to make their voices heard on issues that matter to them.
They ended their post with a hopeful message stating: “If all we ever hear are bad stories, where’s the hope, how can we change things for the better? Our world is a difficult and confusing place of late and here on the East Marsh, EMU are challenging negativity by building hope – here, where we live – and it makes me proud to be a part of our loving, welcoming, forward-looking and fantastic East Marsh community.”
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