Become A Resilience Advocate

Seeking to challenge and reduce extremism, Exit Hate in partnership with Small Steps, are promoting the development of a Resilience Advocates programme, which upskills people to understand why people get involved in extremism and provides advice on how to develop safe spaces and have difficult conversations.

Aware that trying to reduce extremism is going to be tough. We know times are hard and sadly extremism is growing. But extremism can be challenged and reduced.

Promoting a different approach to challenging extremism, we believe the best way forward is for people to come together, become upskilled to understand what ERW (Extreme Right Wing) extremism is, how people get involved, what they believe and what they do, because then and only then, can we challenge extremism via education, in a non-confrontational and non-judgemental way.

Developing on this understanding, we need to create safe spaces in our communities, both online and face to face.

Extremists build on fear, offering people with concerns places to ask questions and talk about their concerns. To reduce extremism, we have to do the same, but how?

Online Safe Spaces

Most of us love the online space, it can be great for connecting with friends and family, but it is also a place where extremists are active and recruiting people with concerns.

To reduce extremists manipulating people we need to create, an online safe space that will allow people to talk about their concerns, ask questions and get offered truthful answers without any political or extremist slant.

These could be operated locally or nationally and be offered - weekly, fortnightly or monthly, BUT THEY NEED TO BE CREATED NOW.

Online people are going to extremists for answers, scared if they ask about migration, they will be called racist or be called sexist, if they ask about the role of men and women in society and we have to acknowledge this is happening, because extremists are benefiting from this current void.

Individuals looking for answers need an online safe space to ask questions, they want responsible answers, which are realistic, based on facts and do not need answers with a political slant or even worse from an extremist, with an altera motive.

People need a safe space to talk and if this interests you, then please get in touch.

Community Safe Spaces

Looking to reduce extremism, we also need Community Safe Spaces, somewhere where people can come, talk, have a cuppa and share their concerns and worries.

Suited more to local implementation, this could be done on a 121 basis or in small groups, in the community, office blocks, council buildings and many more locations. We are only limited by our imagination.

To start we need people, willing to stand up, say enough is enough and develop these safe spaces.

Then we need people to join our Resilience Advocate Training sessions, get trained and then commit to doing something.

This could be:

Keeping updated and spreading the word. This could be by word of mouth, telling people about this idea or sharing posts online and telling people about this project.

Developing Safe Spaces – Online or face to face. Developing Communing Safe Spaces can be done in two ways.

One option is providing support for individuals who may need 121 support, and this can be best done by organisations, in their workplaces so people are in a safe and confidential environment. Where they can speak to people who have been trained and be offered a safe space to talk. Being listened to is the first step to feeling heard and then from here concerns can be discussed, alternatives offered and answers sought.

Will it help?

Being offered a safe space to talk is critical to building buffers between people with concerns and extremists who seek to manipulate such concerns for their own ends.

By offering Safe Spaces, people won’t have to go to extremists to be heard, they will be able to talk with others, knowing it is a safe space and no-one there is seeking to manipulate people to become involved in something, which is extremist and only interested in using people. Instead, they can be offered a welcoming hand, a listening ear and where this is done face to face a warm cuppa!

While only a short overview. This is a simple insight into a different approach.

If this interests you and you would like to support this approach, then please email us at – info@exithate.org

Reducing Extremism – One Person At A Time.

The Exit Hate Support Team.