Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month (GRTHM) has been celebrated annually since June 2008. During this month, we come together to celebrate Romany Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma and nomadic communities, histories and cultures as well as educating and raising awareness of the barriers and issues affecting traditionally nomadic communities. By getting involved, you can help make society more welcoming for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.
What others are doing for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
We spoke to Tommy Buck, Youth Manager at Friends, Families and Travellers:
“The perfect outcome would be to make Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities feel more comfortable and see their culture celebrated.”
I work at a charity called Friends, Families and Travellers, where I started off as an intern whilst at university. I am now the Youth Manager and a significant aspect of my role is supporting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities across Sussex, including East Sussex. We do this by providing a casework service, supporting communities and delivering a range of outreach projects. This includes delivering youth clubs and the running of our youth advisory board to ensure young people in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have a say on how we operate as an organisation.
GRTHM is important as it raises awareness of the communities we support across the country. Those communities face a range of barriers not only blatant racism, but also services not being inclusive/accessible for them in many cases. In my role working with young Gypsy, Roma and Travellers, it is sad to see the negative attitudes towards the communities we support, and I think GRTHM is a good vehicle to breakdown these negative stereotypes. This is the root of racism in many cases, so it’s important to raise awareness and provide information to the wider public and institutions such as local authorities and schools. In the past we have donated books to ensure school libraries include Gypsy, Roma and Travellers literature. We’ve also provided a range of other resources, including pin badges and a GRT flag, to promote important discussions which have led to greater awareness and improved knowledge of the communities we support.
Youth worker and youth group shadowing in the House of Commons.
We talked to Jim Alexander, Team Manager of the Gypsy and Traveller team at East Sussex County Council:
“Working with Traveller communities means not just providing services, but building trust, respecting identity, and recognising the value of a way of life that has endured for generations.”
East Sussex County Council provides support to the Gypsy and Traveller community, which includes the management of 4 four permanent traveller sites and one transit site in Lewes. This is a short-term stopping site that allows Travellers up to 12 weeks’ stay. The team support Travellers to access mainstream services such as appropriate welfare entitlements, health provision and independent advocacy services; as well as providing literacy and digital assistance, and supporting with employment issues, utility providers and other accommodation-related issues.
A key role of the service is to facilitate communication, collaboration and coordination between different parties involved in the support and wellbeing of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. The team works in partnership with district and borough councils, Sussex Police, and landowners in relation to the management of unauthorised encampments (UEs) across East Sussex. This includes undertaking welfare checks for people at the UE. This takes into account their needs, assessing the community impact, responding to public concerns raised, and liaising with the police and legal services on the appropriate course of action.
How you can support GRTHM and the community going forward
There are many resources where you can learn about the history and culture of GRT communities and also join us in celebrating their rich culture.
- Read our round up of books written by and about the GRT community – all books can be found via the East Sussex Library Service
- Take a look at the Friends Families and Travellers GRTHM25 brochure which includes a fascinating timeline starting at 998 AD all the way up to current day
- If you work in education, you could use this GRTHM education pack for schools to help start important conversations, educate students and change the narrative
- Similarly, if you work in a prison, there is a GRTHM education pack for prisons to use
- Visit The Keep archives to view the large collection of coloured lantern slides of GRT communities from the 1920s in East Sussex (ref: R/L/39/1)
- Watch this video of a Friends, Families and Travellers youth group who tried blacksmithing and made a bench featuring an important member of the community, Terry Green
- Join conversations online using the hashtag #GRTHM25 and #GRTHeroesMonth
