Valerie Bossman-Quarshie: community activist

Everybody has a story. Meet Elizabeth House trustee Valerie Bossman-Quarshie who’s making Islington better for us all. Interview by Nicola Baird. Photos by Kimi Gill

Valerie Bossman-Quarshie is a force of energy in Islington as you may already know if you read the local newspapers. For some years she’s often featured in them doing fab things locally – such as running a cake bake fundraiser for Grenfell survivors, being quoted as Islington Labour North’s former BAME officer, and campaigning for a place on the London Assembly.

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During lockdown she’s found even deeper reserves of strengths to support the community.

Despite a disabling injury (which she calls a ‘bad back’) she normally works as a secondary cover supervisor in a school at Barnet. In March she was furloughed, on the advice of her Union because she is BAME and more vulnerable to Covid-19 complications. Instead of just staying at indoors this mum – two of her daughters still live at home – didn’t just provide home schooling support to her 4-year-old and 16-year-old, she also spent voluntary hours at Elizabeth House supporting the making of food parcels in their food bank for the large numbers of local residents who found themselves in serious food poverty when lockdown began.

There have been around 39 volunteers across the last three months, known as the “Arsenal Aiders,” Valerie explains proudly – she’s a big Arsenal fan – adding that in the last week of June, 280 residents used the Elizabeth House food bank and the volunteers also provided parcels for 137 who were either reliant on the food parcels or actually self-isolating unable to collect food or go to the shops.

Recently Valerie has also spoken at local Black Lives Matter rallies honouring George Floyd, including events at Highbury Fields and Newington Green. She’s a great speaker – really good at getting the crowd to listen and respond. Even in front of a large crowd she’s confident at sharing her own experience of micro-aggressions and outright racism.

“My slave masters were of German and Dutch origin so my surname – Bossman and Quarshie – derived from that. I’m not one to shy away from all of that. It’s life,” explains Valerie matter-of-factly who is born and bred Islington.

“I went to school at Christ the King, in Tollington Park. I wanted to play Mary in the nativity, but I wasn’t allowed: I played the donkey. In the Wizard of Oz I was the Scarecrow, not Dorothy. I told my Dad, but I don’t think he saw the deeper message. Books don’t show Mary to be of colour. I’m not saying every member of staff at my school was racist but teachers do need to reflect on the psychological impacts of young black impressions,” she says.

Q: What have you been doing during lockdown?
“What haven’t I been doing? I’m usually an active community member but I’ve been helping the food hub on a weekly basis at Elizabeth House. They get deliveries from various places – Rogers Removals, Innocent Smoothie, Sobell Centre, the Gurdwara Sikh temple community in Swindon – just shows that solidarity and the power of social media and the whole way community connect. You ask for something and the word spreads. We’re taking care of each other and looking after one another in solidarity. It’s so important because as little or as much as we do, we are in this together.

“There’s a massive gap of those that might be working on low income and now can’t afford food. The first week we had a limited amount of food resources. Budget tuna, budget beans and we were running out of things and many of us panicked about how can we deliver. However, Natalie (the manager) and the Mutual Aid group pulled together all this data and found that within the local area – in pockets of streets and on this council estate – the food poverty is serious. From attending the monthly Full Council Meetings at the Islington Town Hall, I have often heard several councillors discussing the heat or eat experience of many residents, which is especially worrying with those families with young children. Lockdown as made it clear how serious local poverty is.

“By week 3 of lockdown the council was really trying to build things. They’ve now got partnership and specific community centres the hub. People going back to work – but there is still a need for nappies and sanitary towels, as these are expensive commodities. There’s such a stigma on periods, but it’s just normal, it’s life. It shouldn’t be a taboo to talk about this just like menopause we must have more sensitivity and discussion about these parts of women’s life.

“So in summary: I’ve been helping as a trustee, as a Islington Council resident and a community campaigner. I’ve been turning up with others with various backgrounds of skills and talents, showing up and giving that support.”

Q: What’s your connection to Elizabeth House?
“The true story? I walked past Elizabeth House so many times before it was painted blue, just thinking it was a building. The only time it came to life was when there were birthday parties. One day my daughter, who is now 16, needed a close-by summer activity scheme and then I saw they did that here. Before I used to go all the way up the road with her to Highbury Roundhouse

“Elizabeth House is so important if you live locally. It’s the bedrock of the community and now also a food hub. So many community buildings are being closed because of cuts. I took part in some of the ‘saving Sotheby Mews’ campaign which is so well used by elderly people. I was lobbying locally and gathering local residents signing petitions, writing to the Labour party group and the MPs.

“I took years to become a trustee of Elizabeth House, I wasn’t reluctant but whatever I do in life I like to commit. I thought what does it entail and will I be good enough? You often don’t see people of colour – like myself – on the board of something, and that isn’t always a true representation of or reflection of that community.  Now I’ve been able to show how resourceful I can be to support the community with outward ideas.”

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Places Valerie Bossman-Quarshie loves in Islington

• I grew up in Islington and have used Selbys on Holloway Road on multiple occasions. It’s an amazing department store, and all indoors – I remember when I got my first pots and pans from there. My eldest is now grown up, but I remember when she needed a bra fitting, we went to Selbys. It has that Harrods feel but it’s close to home. You can either walk it or get in a bus. James Selby is open 10am-5pm
• My second favourite place is the Whittington! I’ve had so many injuries, so I’ve got good and bad memories. Even my last accident – when I was heavily pregnant and had an accident on the bus which caused me to have a long-time disability impairment. I’m partly physically disabled now. I have flashbacks of jelly and ice cream when I had my tonsils out, and scrapes and bumps and stitches out at the nursery. Recently, with Covid-19 I delivered some PPE goggles donated from the school that I am in touch with. Touch wood (so it doesn’t happen soon), I will not have probably survived there. I just love that place. During lockdown we had a PPE workers’ rights vigil there, I missed it but soon after I went to the Whittington and took a pic and short video and fixed some flowers and candle.
• I love the estate around Birchmore Hall with all the greenery. We sit and read books there. It’s being out of the home and having fresh air and exercising. Go there and look at the grass. I call it the little green find of Islington.
• Also I like the views and gardens at the old Arsenal stadium. Sometimes I respectfully sit on the green there – you can socially distance. And being an Arsenal fan, it reminds me of the old grounds!
• I like to sit by the tree and the green spaces close to Elizabeth House, off the Blackstock Estate, and walk around the actual estate. We use it as a walkabout maze, the children and I.

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Q: What have you learnt from doing the food hub at Elizabeth House?
“Martin Lewis Corona fund, Marks and Spencers, Lidl and local household have all come out in colour and supporting the community – contributed plastic bags, gifts of food, parcels, flowers from M&S which were especially lovely for elderly residents without a garden and shielding. I turned up late to pack and saw a bottle of bubbly in one of the food parcels. I don’t even drink! That went to one of the stadium properties. It’s those little things in life. I call it solidarity not charity.

“At the food hub only one person said they wanted Caribbean food and I knew what they needed so advised purely so that person could feel a sense of belonging and have their cultural difference catered for. Being a UK Ghanaian diaspora I know about the experience of diverse foods! I’ve tried to always show up because you can’t have decisions being made on behalf of others who may not know what’s needed. For far too long people have talked on behalf of ‘communities’, but successful community action is about knowing people in your community and during this pandemic Islington has definitely rocked up and done well.

“Having ready-made meals has also shown us the thing we need to improve on like the challenges of giving out tinned food, as elderly people can’t always open tins of baked beans, tomatoes and tuna. I’ve been trying to knock on my neighbours’ flat doors, in case they have arthritis, and asking would you like me to open tins? That’s solidarity. We’ve also been thinking about what we put in food parcels and how to deliver it so it can be easily opened.”

Q: What’s special about Elizabeth House?
“Well our manager here, Natalie, has been amazing – she says, ‘It’s my job’. And I say ‘Natalie you are going beyond your job, this is a pandemic’.  She’s so endearing and forthright and makes you feel part of things. Some weeks it’s almost 280 residents that need food.  It’s not just basics we’ve also given out treats, it makes you feel normal rather than poor. When I’m packing I look at some products and feel like this would be good in my home. I’m a bit of a busy bee and I’ll say if there’s not enough in single people’s packages, put in an edible sweet treat. Or imagine if you are a family and you’ve got a big hungry bear and two little bears and a mother bear. I’m a pictorial person – and have to visualise it. You can’t think of seven meals, you’ve got to think of three meals for seven days and think of portions. I know what my shopping looks like for a family of three and a pet cat. So, you have to think of what gives people a bit of happiness – flowers and chocolate. We also had donations from local teachers who gave away some quiz booklets which many parents appreciated for their children and young people. That was really good.”

Q: Any highlights?
“I’ve been the one behind the photos, taking them on my mobile and trying to capture the hard work, solidarity of the community and the fun created by the mutual aid volunteers!

“Over the weeks we’ve seen  39 new volunteers. I was the one saying ‘keep your distance’. I was saying ‘put your mask on, if gloves rip, throw them away’. I kept saying to one couple you’re too close – I didn’t know they were a couple! One week they were standing very close and talking and I started insisting, ‘You’ve got to space out’. But then someone explained that they lived together and were going to buy a house together – this would make a funny meme!”

Summing up
On her political CV for the London Assembly Valerie called herself “an average regular Londoner”. If she is just “an average regular Londoner” then us Londoners, especially those of us based in Islington, are very special people indeed. Good luck to all Valerie’s community work and here’s hoping to see her with some political power soon so she can continue working with others making a difference within the wider community.

• Follow Valerie on twitter at @valerieabossman

Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird dot green at gmail dot com.  If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z  index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola