Meet the Mancunian -8.5-Steve Goodman transcript

Intro

Welcome to Season 8 of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. A warm Mancunian welcome from your host, Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe. Thank you for joining me today.

Every Tuesday, I bring you the stories of Manchester's unsung heroes, the individuals who helped to create positive change in our community. My aim is to inspire you, dear listener, to follow your own passions, whether through volunteering or working in the social impact sector. I'm also keen to spotlight good causes and create more awareness and support for them.

Whether you're tuning in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or on my website, www.meetthemancunian.co.uk, get ready for a season filled with inspiring tales of social impact within our beloved city.

Episode 8.5

Welcome to the fifth episode of Season Eight of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester.

Passionate about supporting music and dance in the community? We hear from Steve Goodman, Chair, Liv's Trust, in this episode.

In Steve's own words,

[00:01:10] Steve Goodman: It's also a safe space for them to go. They come initially because they wanted the music, but some just come because they just want something to do in an evening. So many young people with nothing to do out there, and especially since COVID has hit. We decided that this would be something that we could do and help. Not only the young that Olivia wanted to help but others in the community. So, we've extended it a bit and some come just to play pool or kick a ball about and have somewhere to come

Introduction and Guest Welcome

[00:01:38] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much, Steve, for joining me today.

Discovering a Passion for Music and Dance

[00:01:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Before we talk about your work with Liv's Trust, I'd really want to know how you found your passion for supporting music and dance in the community, especially among young people. Where did that start?

[00:01:51] Steve Goodman: It started with my granddaughters when they were very little. We took them to dancing and they learned ballroom dancing and Latin and American. They were both very good at it, so at a later date I had to learn myself so I could dance with them. We did quite a lot. They loved going to the shows and at the theatre.

Olivia always liked singing and music. We decided this was probably the best thing we could set up for as a charity, because it was her passion.

Founding Liv's Trust

[00:02:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us more about how you got involved with Liv's Trust and what does it do? I know you set it up when you lost your granddaughter during the Arena bombing. You want to start with how you started that and now what you're doing in Bury.

[00:02:32] Steve Goodman: We set up a Libby Memorial to Olivia. Something that would create a legacy that was fitting for a 15-year-old child who loved to sing and dance. We started supporting young people in music and dance in Greater Manchester.

As the cost-of-living crisis started to bite, and more people were just saying no, the kids couldn't do it, because there were no funds. Because they've got more than one child in the family, they couldn't afford for everyone.

Hear Me Roar Music Club

[00:02:59] Steve Goodman: So we set up a Hear Me Roar, music club where Mia Warlow is our main person that runs it. It was her idea to call it Hear Me Roar because the children need a voice. When you get so many people in a small community where there's nothing for them to do and they're coming into music because they're interested.

The music club starts for seven- to 12-year-olds, which is the Tuesday evening. And then we do one on a Thursday evening. 12- to 16-year-olds, probably extend it to 17 when they get older. It's also a safe space for them to go.

They come initially because they wanted the music, but some just come because they just want something to do in an evening. So many young people with nothing to do out there, and especially since COVID has hit. We decided that this would be something that we could do and help. Not only the young that Olivia wanted to help but others in the community. So, we've extended it a bit and some come just to play pool or kick a ball about and have somewhere to come.

[00:04:00] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Fascinating that you're also offering almost like a youth club service along with this focus on art and dance. And you're right about saying that young people are looking for a safe space to spend the evening. It's really powerful what you're doing.

Do you want to talk a little bit more about any of the services or focus areas of Liv's Trust?

[00:04:22] Steve Goodman: We set up and funded, like I said, two Hear Me Roar clubs. Our trustees are mostly family except for our treasurer, Erica Shaw who's a family friend and priceless. We have volunteers who will help with guitar lessons, drum lessons, keyboards, singing and general supervision at the clubs.

They're all priceless, but Mia Warlow is the main music club director and it's her baby that wanted to use the name Hear Me Roar Music, ensuring young people have the voice. We ran a bronze arts award that helped young people who were struggling at school with mental health problems or who were on the peripheral of the judicial system.

They've since performed at the Armed Forces Day, hate crime awareness at the Metbury, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Knife Angels. Callum, one of the recipients, gave a very powerful interview on Radio Manchester on knife crime with Simone Riley. And he used the language down there with the kids at the moment, whereas you probably wouldn't, we probably wouldn't put the right words into what they wanted to hear. They'd probably just listen to us and think, oh, old people, forget it. But he used very current language.

[00:05:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: A really important thing that you're doing.

You talked about trustees and volunteers being people who have been really helpful in this, but have there been any barriers you've had to overcome?

Challenges and Community Support

[00:05:43] Steve Goodman: We had to find a place to stage the Trust and we wanted to put a music room at the Girls and Boys Club because we wanted it to be for young people. And it started because my Uncle Arthur was a councillor at the time. He helped to found the Boys Club with Bonnie Morris and unfortunately once he passed away in 1985, there was very few people taking it forward.

He was just running as a youth club, so we wanted to put a room in there, dedicated to music. And I tend to empty everything out of one room as a storage room and paint it, decorate it. We've got drum kits in there now, we've got guitars on the walls, there's keyboards in, we've got ukuleles, alternate lighting. We've put a projector in so that hopefully we can open it to children who need a quiet space.

If you go to, where they were having shows,cartoons and things for children on film. A lot of them cover their ears because they can't stand the noise. So we're hoping to open it up to those families just to have an hour and a half where they can sit with their child at the volume they want to watch a film on and then they can have some time to themselves.

So we're hoping to get that going in the future. The ones that run the boys club, Reece and Craig, have been excellent with helping us. But a lot of the work's come down to myself and Colin that runs the Woodies from there. We've done quite a bit at it now and we're getting there, we're starting to achieve.

[00:07:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Imagine that finding the space and then finding the right services and the experience to offer young people and their families is so important.

You've talked a lot about getting young people to find their voice and, hear me roar or hear us roar. That was lovely.

Impact on Young People

[00:07:29] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you tell us a little more about the impact you'd say you made on people, young people and their families?

[00:07:35] Steve Goodman: We've supported them through colleges, from universities, through dance schools and things, because there's nothing for them. There was always plenty of funding for sport. If people wanted to play football or do netball or things like that. There was sports funding, but there's nothing for the ones for the arts.

And Olivia wanted to be a music and dance teacher, so this was her way of giving something into it. We've helped one young lady get her master's in London for the clarinet. She's now going on to teach.

We've helped to achieve their dreams in cruise ships. We've got one young lady in the West End. We've helped them to come through doing these things. And it's been an absolutely passionate experience. We've got five at Mountain View College. And we're helping one young lady in her dance career.

It's been really marvellous and we've got five young ladies currently at the local Clark Dance School as they're doing things. We helped a couple of teachers to get their exams so they could then carry on to teach.

We've made quite a bit of an impact in such a short time. It's quite surprising to us, we never thought we'd do it. Just thought we'd be able to give out some recorders to a school. Or a pair of dance shoes to somebody that needed them.

[00:08:50] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Love what you're doing in terms of giving people future careers through music and arts, as well as helping teachers funding them as well, so that they can follow their passions. That's wonderful.

Advice for Starting Similar Initiatives

[00:09:01] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What advice would you have for people looking to start something similar in their local community? You talked about a lot of things being available for the sports but not as much for the UK or in another part of the world. How should they get started?

[00:09:18] Steve Goodman: I would hope that what happened to us doesn't happen again and doesn't happen to anybody else. But what I would say is, listen to the young people. And what they want, and their needs, because they are any country's or community's future. Hear them roar. That's the best thing I can say, is listen to them, invest in them.

[00:09:37] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Really important.

Common Myths and Community Engagement

[00:09:38] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Is there a common myth about your area or about dance and music that you'd like to bust?

[00:09:45] Steve Goodman: It's an experience, when we went to speak about things either at the local Khizra Mosque in Cheetham Hill or, wherever we've been the young people don't get any help for it, and when you ask them if they want to do sports, they don't. They want to do DJing, mixing things singing. They love singing.

They want to hear the music. They want to dance, even if it's only in their bedrooms and among themselves. So, they want something like that, and none of them really wanted to go into sports and things and there was nothing local for them. In most of the communities, we found very few.

The Khizra mosque does do their own dancing lessons for their own type of dancing. So they're really forward thinking in what they do and they're doing everything in their own communities. They're not just doing it for themselves by themselves, they're doing it for everybody that lives in their community, whatever their colour, creed, let them into the mosque and talk.

We've got an olive tree in the Peace Garden in memory of Olivia. It was about a sapling when we planted it about a foot tall, now it's six foot plus and wider than me and it's just incredible that the work that they do as a community and that we are proud to be a part of them.

[00:11:00] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And this is really important to share.

An opportunity for you now to talk about anything I haven't asked you about, anything coming up over the summer or autumn.

[00:11:11] Steve Goodman: We're doing a couple of events in Bury on the Rock on the 18th of May. We'll be doing our memorial to the 22 victims. There'll be peace hearts and things out there for people to take. And we'll have the local choirs, Bury Community Fire Choir, and the Encore Youth Fire Choir will be there singing. We'll have a lot of fun. The girl that won Radcliffe's Got Talent that we've sponsored, she's so involved in music. She's another amazing young lady that's come forward from it all.

And we've had people. They've been very shy and unable to speak a lot of autism, different types of autism and on the spectrums of various things. And they all come now and they've said it's a place where they feel safe coming to the club.

So if you can do something like that to help your community, just create these spaces and help. There's nothing you can do that doesn't have an impact on somebody else. So, it might as well be a positive one. And I would say to anybody, take positive steps forward.

[00:12:10] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: We did speak to Katie Geelan, who's also part of the choir director. She actually connected us. Shout out to her as well and the entire choir.

[00:12:19] Steve Goodman: I'm just going to say she's one amazing woman.

Signature Questions and Personal Insights

[00:12:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Moving to the signature questions I ask all my guests. And the first one is, if Manchester was a colour, what colour would it be and why?

[00:12:29] Steve Goodman: I would like to say coffee coloured, because it's just a blend. We've got so many different cultures, creeds, people, pale pinks to deep black or brown or whatever we have. We've got so many regional people and there's not that much trouble among the general public. It's one or two idiots that you get in every community. Manchester is just an exceptional place. And like I say we've hundreds of different dialects and people that just get on.

[00:13:00] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: A really special city, I must say as a new Mancunian who's experienced that.

If you could choose a famous landmark in Manchester to represent you, which one would that be and why?

[00:13:13] Steve Goodman: I would like to think it could be The Church of the Hidden Gem in the centre of Manchester St Anne's Church, because there's so much within Mancunians that people can't see. And of course, the Hidden Gem, until you go through the doors, you have no idea what beauty there is inside.

[00:13:34] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I don't think I've been there. I must make a visit. It sounds really wonderful.

[00:13:39] Steve Goodman: It's beautiful, once you go through the doors, there's no place like it. And it's peaceful.

[00:13:43] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: If you could trade lives with someone in Manchester for a day, who would that be and why?

[00:13:49] Steve Goodman: I think I might like to be one of the High Court judges. Because I, from what I've experienced and heard, there's very few understand the real world, and I'd like to be able to give some judgment on that or talk to some of those about what they do. We have some excellent lawyers and solicitors and barristers, but the people that come down to making the final decisions don't seem to understand the people's basic needs.

[00:14:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is a really interesting one about bringing a bit of real-life perspective to judges who are making very important decisions. So really good shout out.

What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:14:31] Steve Goodman: To live each day as it comes. To take nothing for granted. Anything can be round the corner. That you've no idea what you're going to do. Live each day as it comes. Live your life for what you want. Follow your dreams. If you're young, follow your dreams because there's only you can achieve them. If you're old, you've had your chance and we've not done it. Let's let the young ones have their day.

We use the tagline We Choose Love because after the time of the Arena, there was a lot of racist comments going around on social media. I wasn't a great believer in social media at the time. I didn't know a lot about it.

I've learned more since. There was hatred and it was across colour, across religion. And there's no need for it. There's just let people live their way and you live your way and let all that go on. So, we decided that we wasn't going to generate hatred. And we were just going to choose love and love was the thing.

[00:15:27] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: So powerful. Like you said, there's no need to generalise or stereotype. Give everybody the opportunity they deserve and they want.

[00:15:36] Steve Goodman: I've spoken at the Khizra Mosque on hate crime, and I said at the time that there is, nobody's born with hatred, it's learned. And it's time that people, say my son's age, in the 40s, turn to their elders and say, this is a different country, Dad, we don't do that here.

Turn to their sons and say, there's no need for this, don't carry a blade. Don't go out fighting, just go out and enjoy yourselves and have your lives. And to the mothers, please don't lose any more of your sons because you are afraid to speak out to your husbands. And I got a massive round of applause from the Khizra mosque itself. They completely agree and they've got the banner that was painted in the cathedral We Stand Together.

[00:16:23] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think it's such an important thing. So many opportunities to help each other and to make positive impact and positive difference. Something that the podcast likes to do in a small way by shining a light on a cause like yours and encouraging people to get involved.

What's the most important personality trait somebody would need to be successful in your role?

[00:16:46] Steve Goodman: Probably to have a lot more energy than I've got. To start it younger and to have the intelligence without having the PTSD because once you've got that it's very difficult to focus. And when you've had a series of illnesses and you've been on the high pain relief drugs and things, you have to stop, think, get your mind going.

And it doesn't bode well for the older generation because most of us have illnesses at some time and have to take these things. So that's why I say, let the young have their day. Listen to their voices and give them the chance to look after us.

[00:17:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: How can interested people reach out to you and learn more?

[00:17:23] Steve Goodman: We're mainly on Facebook, Livestrust CIO, and we can be contacted through that. Our treasurer does put us on Twitter, and the other forms of social media that she does Snapchat and things so we should be on them.

We'd just like to say thank you to everybody that's helping us, currently. And that has helped us. And particularly at the moment because Radcliffe is being regenerated in the centre.

We used to be on the bandstand selling our pre-loved goods to, to raise funds for the children and for the college educations and things. They've knocked the shops and things down in the centre, but they have given us some premises to work from. And it's making a tremendous difference to us to be able to keep going, particularly this year through the winter that we've never been able to do before.

So I thank you to Bury Council for that, and to anybody else that's supporting us, really. Like I say, we've got the charity shop in the centre of Radcliffe next to the antique shop on Blackburn Street. So if anybody wants to call in, they can make donations or purchase goods for us. We like to think we're the cheapest charity shop in Radcliffe.

[00:18:24] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I hope people do visit and support the cause.

Heartwarming Stories and Conclusion

[00:18:27] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Is there a funny or a heartwarming story you'd like to share with listeners to end the podcast? You talked about so many people whose lives you've transformed.

[00:18:35] Steve Goodman: I have two quite nice ones really. The first one was the first young lady we supported. Her mother got in touch with us. She used to do Irish dancing. I don't know whether she still does. I believe she does. She needed a new pair of shoes because hers were getting too small. Would this be the sort of thing that we could support with?

Her mother at the time was a nurse at Manchester, but she just had a baby and hadn't got back to work, couldn't afford it. So, we got her both sets of Irish dancing shoes, pair of socks, wrapped it up as a Christmas present and gave it the mum to wrap for Christmas. And it was like a touching moment. And when she came to the opening of our charity and danced for us all, it was an incredible experience to watch the young lady mentioned doing it.

And we had a young man who was very much on the autistic scale. And he wouldn't go to school for his mum, she had a battle with him every day. But all he liked to do was sit and pick at a toy guitar.

So, we got him guitar lessons within Bury Music and at school. And then we got a message of his mum saying he liked to go one day a week. He liked to go on the Wednesdays and we said he doesn't go the rest of the week, the Wednesdays could be stopped.

This was when he was eight years old. By the time he was 11, he was playing in a trio and at school and going every day. And it turned his life and his mum's life around, and it was absolutely incredible that we could do something like that.

[00:20:01] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Both are really amazing stories and I particularly the second one, like you said, it's, your power of transforming lives through small things.

[00:20:10] Steve Goodman: Through the power of music, it's just unbelievable.

[00:20:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Unbelievable and music soothes souls, they say, right?

[00:20:16] Steve Goodman: They say it's the last thing to go when your mind goes.

[00:20:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much. It's been a real pleasure to talk to you today, Steve. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

[00:20:24] Steve Goodman: Thank you.

Outro

Steve, I really enjoyed learning about supporting music and dance today.

Dear listener, thank you so much for listening to the fifth episode of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast:.

Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode or log on to meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to all the episodes and learn more about my podcasting story.

Next week on Tuesday, 9th July 2024, I speak to Shanaz Hussain about supporting education in the community. Thank you for joining me on the Meet the Mancunian Podcast: social impact stories from Manchester.

I hope today's conversation has sparked new ideas and inspired you to act in your community. A big thank you to my wonderful community for your continuous support and valuable feedback. Your stories shape the very essence of my podcast, driving me forward with purpose.

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