'Comfort and confidence': the group helping autistic adults socialise and thrive
Plus: Life in hidden poverty hotspot and new pet crematorium plan for Banks
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Southport Lead.
At a time when more and more people are experiencing social isolation, loneliness is a major problem in our society and affects both physical and mental health. For those on the autistic spectrum, these challenges can be significantly greater.
Today, we hear from one group which is trying to challenge that by offering a safe, encouraging and empowering place for people with the condition to meet up and make friends.
Also in today’s edition we report on a very serious but little known issue which is the town centre area where people are living in serious deprivation. While many in the town are very well off, life for others is very different indeed.
Finally, we share the latest from the Southport Inquiry and you can also read about a new plan to open a pet crematorium in Banks - this time away from the village centre spot which could outrage when proposed earlier this year.
Group helping autistic people make real life relationships to screen film
By Jamie Lopez
A group set up to give autistic adults a chance to socialise will next month premier a film about a little-known part of Southport’s history.
Launched in January 2024 and run by volunteers Linton Jones, Debster Clarke and Brenda Balfe, Spectrum Alliance Merseyside offers those on the spectrum a way out of isolation and a chance to take part in activities in an environment which allows them to feel safe and confident.
From a first trip with just a handful of attendees, the group has grown to offer a range of regular outings with group members ranging in age from 18 to 72 and events each attracting around 10-15 members.
Debster, whose son is autistic and attends the sessions, said: “At the time there was nothing like this for anyone to do in Southport.
“There was Bluecoat in Liverpool but that was only once a month. Linton came up with the idea of ‘why don’t we set up something ourselves in Southport’. That became Spectrum Alliance Southport or SAM.
“It started off with just three or four of us meeting up and going bowling.”
From there, activities have expanded to include visits to the Bijou Cinema, days and evenings playing games at HARP (a board game cafe on King Street), weekly events at the Cheshire Lines pub and a writers’ group at Walkers on Wesley Street.
There is also a drop-in session at Birkdale Community Hub and Library once a fortnight offering free hot drinks and biscuits and events are advertised on Facebook with newcomers always welcome.
Debster said the idea came from Linton, who himself is autistic. She moved to Southport in 2015 and, having worked as a legal secretary and volunteered at the Make It Workshop, in Cambridge Walks, knew she could help with administration and social media.
SAM is entirely run by volunteers and it receives no regular funding but those involved believe it is providing something vital for its group members.
“There was no other autism group in Southport,” Debster explains. “That’s why it was set up so they can feel comfortable with other people like themselves.
“We have a WhatsApp group and what’s been great is seeing people suggest and arrange their own events. It’s nice to see them having the confidence to actually arrange things and one of the members is arranging the Christmas party.”
While its activities aren’t usually designed to go beyond its private members, SAM have created a short film about the history of King Street which will be shown at the Bijou Cinema, on Post Office Ave, on October 14.
The film itself last around half an hour, while there will also be talks about the townscape project and SAM’s work with the free event lasting a little under two hours in total.
Debster explained: “In January, a friend of ours applied on our behalf to Southport Townscape Heritage Project to get involved in the history of King Street. He was making a film and we were just going to be doing a bit of research but unfortunately he had to drop out due to other commitments.
“We didn’t want the film to fall through so we said we’d give it a go.”
The location proved difficult to research but ultimately proved very worthwhile.
“King Street used to be where Morrisons is now. King Street was actually Upper King Street. Apparently there was a theatre there and we’ve found a poster there with Rob Roy being performed.
The group members needed to learn about various elements of the process including filming, editing and sound mixing and there is a lot of pride in the final product.
But, as always, the most important thing has been the opportunities provided to the members to take part in a new activity and be able to spend time building relationships with other.
Debster said: “The main reason we set it up is because there’s nothing for people with autism to feel involved, to feel safe. To get them out and make friends in the real world, not just online.
“A lot of people with autism are very interested in gaming as their only way to socialise but you don’t really know who you’re chatting to, whether it’s a man or woman or if anything they’re saying is true. So we help people to go out and meet people who are real friends.
“I think you feel comfortable and confident and safe knowing you’re somewhere where everyone’s got a similar background.”
The History of King Street will be screened at the Bijou Cinema at 1.30pm on October 14. To book free tickets, click here.
To ask about getting involved in any of SAM’s activities, you can message their Facebook page, contact 07802 643156 or email sam.alliance@outlook.com.
Recommended reading
There is only one link in the section today and it again comes from reporting of The Southport Inquiry where on Monday statements were read out on behalf of the parents of the three children who were killed. Their words are powerful, devastating, and demand action. Read them here
“This was preventable. It should never have happened. And no other child, no other family, no other community should ever endure what we now live with every single day,” Lauren King, mum of Bebe
Life in the “underbelly of poverty” on town’s back streets
By Elliot Jessett
“In the summertime, Southport is absolutely beautiful, but when winter comes, it’s dull and quiet and it can be quite depressing.”
These are the words of Justine who has lived in Southport for the last five years and is just on her way home from doing some shopping. It’s a sentiment shared by many of the people we spoke whilst walking around the seaside town last week.
It is a Friday morning and the weather is very changeable in Southport, oscillating between warm, bright sunshine and dark grey cloud formations loaded up with heavy rain. In many ways, it’s the perfect climate to assess the contrasting experience of living in a seaside town during the summertime and the winter months.
We encounter Justine in a residential area just off Lord Street, which is located in Dukes ward of the Sefton Council area. This ward covers parts of Southport town centre as well as sections of Birkdale and Hillside.
According to the Indices of Deprivation, Dukes ward is one of the most deprived places in England, with areas struggling with abject poverty, poor housing and low employment rates.
Justine, 40, said she feels lucky to have work and a good home but is all to aware of the poverty issues in Southport, she added: “It’s hidden, especially in the summer, but it’s always there, just more clear during the winter when there’s not so many jobs. It’s very quiet then, not much industry around and not a lot of work.”
It is an observation backed up by the data.
Demographic information compiled by Sefton Council shows Dukes ward has a significantly lower life expectancy than other parts of the borough, and the country as a whole. It has higher crime rates, poor educational attainment rates, more children accessing social services and significantly higher proportion of the population accessing Universal Credit.
Cllr John Pugh is one of the councillors elected to represent this area, he said: “There are parts of Dukes Ward which are as deprived as anywhere else in the UK and parts of exceptional wealth.
“Much of the poverty is found in anonymous bedsits, often converted Edwardian property that has seen better days. The transient nature of this property and its occupiers makes it hard to build a supportive neighbourhood.”
Cllr Pugh added: “People are surviving but not prospering and are often hidden away in warren-like HMOs barely coping. Success means moving. Sadly there is little money these days for housing regeneration and I worry in particular about the old seaside landlady belt between Lord St and the Promenade.
“Lord Street and the seafront are targets for investment but between them lies an area that has potential but also a multitude of problems.”
As we continue our mini-tour of the town centre, we walk along some of the streets mentioned by Cllr Pugh, with lots of very handsome properties but also houses with signs of disrepair and destitution. In one of the roads connecting the coast to the town centre, we come across Andrew who has lived in Southport for the best part of 45 years.
Andrew said he enjoys the ‘sleepiness’ of the town, but has noticed a change in recent years, he said: “I think it has been on a downward trajectory.
“Lord Street, at one stage, was very popular, very smart. Now we see – like other towns and cities across the country – all the signs of a declining Britain. It’s a shame.
“There’s a big underbelly of poverty in Southport and always has been. There are the most awful landlords, the worst premises, horrific conditions and lots of children are going to school hungry. There’s real poverty here.
“Sadly, there are two different Britains and there are two different Southports. There are people like me, who are semi-retired, reasonably well off. Then there are people who really suffer with paying for their energy, their food and other essentials.
“I think a lot of investment is needed, and keeping to these artificially drawn lines about what we can spend and what debt we can have, I think all that’s wrong. The way out of it is by regenerating.”
There are some reasons to be optimistic for Southport. The LDRS has reported on a number of investment and regeneration projects over the last year including the £37.5 million from the Town Deal fund for a new Marine Lake Events Centre.
There is also a creative enterprise arcade, ongoing work on Southport pier which is scheduled to re-developed in the next 18 months, the upgrades to the town’s ‘Market Quarter’ and the work around the Townscape Heritage Project. Sefton Council believes these investments will help rejuvenate Southport’s cultural and commercial economies.
This is certainly what Michael Quinn is focusing on as he considers his future in the town. Michael is 27-years-old and works at a local coffee shop. He is optimistic about Southport and is looking forward to the opening of the new convention centre and believes it will help attract more investment and more opportunities for younger people.
However, Michael also highlights the difficulties younger people face when living in Southport, he said: “It’s 50/50 with Southport. In summer, it’s a lot busier. You get tourists coming into town to enjoy the seaside, but during the winter months, it is very, very bleak. It’s always sort of dark, grim, wet, miserable, with not much to do.
“It is a nice town, it is a beautiful town, but there’s just not much going on here right now.
“Some people have always said to me that Southport is designed for older people and for those retiring and you can see that. For people my age and other young people there nothing to do.
“That can be changed, but it will need more investment, especially if they want to keep younger people in the town and attract new people.”
Joan Burston, 80, is one of the older people living in Southport and she has lived in the town for the last twenty years. Joan enjoys the summer months and believes there is a lot going for Southport, but also sympathises with younger people like Michael.
Joan said: “There’s always something going on in the summer. I’m glad that they’re bringing the pier back, because that was a great joy to me and my grandchildren to the walk along that.
“Southport is a nice place. It’s still a nice place and there’s lots of reasons why people come.
“We just need more reasons for people to stay.”
New pet crematorium plan unveiled in alternative village location
Months after residents’ anger saw plans for a village pet crematorium scrapped, a new application has been made at an alternative location.
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