Last week ALOVE interviewed Jo Underwood and asked her about why she’s involved in legal aid work and what it involves. This week we ask her why social action is important.

Jo is a young Salvationist who works as a housing solicitor in a legal aid law firm based in Brixton, an inner city area of South-West London. She has recently appeared on a range of BBC radio programmes relating to the government and social action.


1. Do you think its important for all Christians to be actively involved in social action and, if so, why?

First, I’ll state what I’m talking about when I use the phrase ‘social action.’ I think it’s what God means when he asks us to love him with all our heart and love our neighbour as ourselves. I think that there are many, many different ways that all Christians can outwork this, using the gifts God has given them and the situations that God has put them in. So I do think it’s important for us all to love our neighbours because it’s part of bringing God’s Kingdom into our communities – it’s taking action to see that people hear his message of love.


2. What are some of the way that young people in ALOVE can get involved in social action?

I think it’s important to start where you are – look at the things you can do and the gifts that God has given you. Ask him to open your eyes to see the need in your communities – where you live, study, work etc. And then ask him to help you meet those needs, perhaps get some friends together and go for it! When I was at University I got together with some friends who were also challenged that there were so many homeless people near where we lived. We didn’t really know what to do with such a huge problem but we knew we had to start somewhere, so we would go out and buy people food and chat to them. We then got involved in some church outreach, helping out in a drop in centre for the homeless. From there, we learnt loads and saw different ways we could be used to challenge the problem of homelessness.

So, start where you are, in your own community. Also, there are loads of great national campaigns to get involved with, for example, ALOVE’s campaign against the proposed gambling laws. Every person’s voice makes a difference.


3. Should social action be a key area of the Salvation Army as it goes into this new stage in its life?

Absolutely! God calls us to love our neighbours and The Salvation Army is already making a fantastic impact in many areas where there is need – homelessness, drug/alcohol addiction, poverty…. It should definitely be a key area, I think our challenge is to keep seeking God’s calling on this both in our communities and globally. We need to really search for our prophetic voice to keep speaking God’s truth into issues such as debt, unjust trade laws, poverty – and so much more.


4. You had some unique opportunities to speak out on the BBC about social action- can you tell us a bit about these opportunities?

Well, God certainly works in mysterious ways. I never thought I’d see the day when I got picked up in a chauffer driven car and taken to the BBC Television Centre! There has been some big news recently on two issues that I’m involved in because of my work – asylum seekers and government cut backs to legal aid. If legal aid is cut then the poorest people won’t be able to get help with their legal problems. Then, asylum seekers (who usually get legal aid) get a bad press most of the time, particularly in the tabloid press. It’s rare to hear the truth behind many of their stories – the fact that they might have fled from torture and imprisonment, after their family has also been tortured or killed. They then get to the UK and have to sleep on the streets whist their asylum claim is decided, because of some bad law regarding their accommodation. During this time they have to survive on little or no money and are forced into the humiliation of having to beg for food. I was asked to tell some of these stories on some BBC Radio programmes, to try and paint a more realistic picture of the situation.


5. How can young people get their schools involved in social action?

Again, start where you are and look out for the needs in your particular school. There might be issues that people need to deal with, such as bullying. Some schools have times where you can go and talk to another student in confidence about issues like this. A great way to start is to ensure that you are always inclusive – look out for people who might be left out on the margins and look for ways you can help them joint in and feel included.

On a larger scale, you might want to join in with the larger campaigns that are already up and running – the Fairtrade or Trade Justice campaigns for example. Contact the organisations to find out how to get your school involved, most of them have good websites to check out.


6. If you could say one thing to the young people of ALOVE in relation to social action what would it be?

Develop your love for God and out of that will come love for others – this naturally leads to action where there is need.