report
A night out
with the
Get Home Safely
Guardian
Angels
Last year, we ran our first-ever Get Home
Safely Awards to thank the schemes that
help see women home after a night out. The
winner was Torbay’s Street Pastors, who patrol
the streets to help hundreds of vulnerable
women every weekend. Laura Mitchell
spent a night with the Weymouth branch…
o
n a bar-lined street, Amy* is
standing alone. A pool of
vomit surrounds her feet and
her eyes are red from crying.
“Do you want some water?” a woman asks,
approaching to check she’s all right. Trying
to catch her breath between sobs, Amy
weakly smiles. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine.”
The kind woman isn’t just a fellow
night-outer. She’s Nicola, a 31-year-old
Street Pastor from Weymouth. And don’t
be fooled by the name. Nicola isn’t a priest
or a vicar – Street Pastors are regular men
and women who voluntarily patrol town
centres around the UK every Friday and
Saturday night from 10pm-4am, looking for
vulnerable young women who may need
their help. And, tonight, I’m joining them.
As the clock strikes 10.30pm, Nicola,
Phyl, Mick and Darren pull on their jackets
and caps. Stepping out of St Mary’s
Church, we set off on patrol, as loud music
and chatter echo along the dark streets.
Although motivated by their faith, Street
Pastors don’t take to the streets to preach.
Founded in 2003, the scheme was started
in Brixton, London, by Reverend Les Issac,
who is also director of the Ascension Trust,
which oversees the Street Pastors scheme.
Today, Street Pastors operates in 150 UK
locations, with around 3,500 volunteers.
The initiative took a while to set up, as
Reverend Les Issac explains, “We visited
From top: Our Get
Home Safely campaign;
Company’s Laura
Mitchell on patrol
Birmingham, Manchester and five London
boroughs to look at the problems, and
spoke to community leaders, police and
social workers. More importantly, we spoke
to young people about what they needed.”
But the initial reaction to the team wasn’t
all positive. “Some people were a bit
negative at first,” explains Darren. “But
now that everyone’s realised we’re not
trying to Bible bash, it’s turned around.
We’re really just there trying to help out.”
Weymouth Street Pastors began in June
2008 and has eight street teams, with
a total of 32 volunteers aged from their
twenties to their seventies. Whatever the
weather, the different teams patrol one
night a month, and every Friday and
Saturday a team is out in town.
But what exactly do they do? “Every night
is different,” explains Phyl. “We’re famous
for giving flip-flops to women who can’t
walk in their heels, and water to people
who’ve drunk too much. But we also give
out blankets, pick up broken glass and
make sure everyone gets home safely.”
If they see someone in need of assistance,
they help – it’s as simple as that.
Since their first patrols, Weymouth’s
Street Pastors have given out over 300
pairs of flip-flops, 150 bottles of water and
40 blankets. They’ve removed over 2,000
bits of broken glass and, most recently,
have started giving revellers lollipops to >
www.company.co.uk JULY
53
help with blood-sugar levels, and
encouraging people to keep the noise
down at the end of a night.
Tonight, Weymouth town centre is
heaving. A broken bottle lies shattered
in the road. Nicola pulls on a rubber
glove before retrieving it. “We
always pick up any broken bottles,
just in case women take their
shoes off at the end of the night,”
she says, throwing the shards into
the bin a few steps away.
As we meander down the street,
girls totter past in short skirts, their
stilettos clicking loudly on the
pavement. The Black Eyed Peas thump
from one bar and Cheryl Cole echoes
from another. Burly bouncers
acknowledge the Street Pastors as we
pass and a couple of them invite the
team to stop by for a warm drink later.
Further along the road, girls spill out
of the bars onto the street. Two women
enjoying a girlie weekend away are
Karen, 22, and her friend Claire, 23,
both trainee solicitors from London.
“Street Pastors are a great idea,” says
Karen. “It’s nice to know people are
looking out for women and ensuring
they get home safely, especially if
they’re in an area they don’t really
know.” Claire agrees, “Their presence
Left and top: Street
Pastors on patrol. Right:
‘rescue packs’ of water,
wipes and blankets.
Below: girls are given
flip-flops to walk home in
time. Problems do exist, but not as
much as you might imagine.”
Back in Weymouth, two women are
crossing the bridge. Walking past the
team, they glance at the reflective white
lettering spelling ‘Street Pastor’ on their
jackets, before one shouts, “Hey! You’re
the Street Pastors. You’re the good
people! One of you gave me water
once.” Nicola tells me, “Most of the local
“It’s reassuring that the pastors are on the
streets. they’re trying to make a difference”
makes me feel safer and it’s good to
know that, if I had a problem, the Street
Pastors would help without judging me.”
Tiffany, 21, a student from
Bournemouth, is celebrating her birthday
with friends. She knows all about the
work of the Street Pastors. “It’s really
kind of them to give out flip-flops,” she
says before pointing at her glossy black
heels. “These kill me by the end of the
night! I’ve taken them off to walk home
before, and it’s not until the morning
that I realise how stupid that is.”
Before hitting the streets, all Pastors
have to take part in 12 intensive training
sessions encompassing several subjects,
including drug, alcohol and solvent
awareness; sociology; knowing your
community; counselling; youth culture;
mental health and working with
statutory agencies. Sitting in on a
training session, I watch PC Tony
Mottram show how the Street Pastors
and police can work effectively together.
He explains how to approach people:
“You’ll notice a completely different
atmosphere on the streets at night, but
usually people are out having a happy
54
JULY www.company.co.uk
people recognise us now but Weymouth
is a tourist destination so, throughout
the summer, we get a lot of visitors –
lots of hen and stag parties – so people
still ask who we are and what we do.”
street saviours
Tony Stephens, who co-ordinates
Weymouth’s Street Pastors, recalls
helping many young women out of some
sticky situations. “One night, we noticed
what looked like two couples ahead
of us,” he explains. “We were some
distance off but saw one of the couples
retreat into a shop doorway. The man in
the other couple saw us approaching
and pulled the first man out of the
doorway, then they both walked quickly
away. Our presence obviously deterred
them from whatever they were planning.
When we got to the young women, they
were pretty shaken up. They’d only just
met the men and realised they’d probably
bitten off more than they bargained for.
We ensured the girls were OK before
helping them to a place of safety.”
It’s stories like this that highlight the
need for more Get Home Safely schemes,
as any of us could find
ourselves in a difficult
situation after a few too many.
Although there are no
formal statistics on crime levels
since the Weymouth Pastors
started, nearby Portsmouth
has reported a fall in crime.
According to Peter Cornish,
public health practitioner
trainee, Portsmouth’s Pastors
have reduced the fear of crime
and helped contribute towards
a 62% drop in violent offences.
And Torbay’s Street Pastors
scheme has also recorded massive
success: since starting in 2008, they have
given out 625 pairs of flip-flops, 273
bottles of water and 78 blankets, and
helped 13,965 people home – they have
even been credited with saving three
lives. And their efforts haven’t gone
unnoticed – they won Company’s Get
Home Safely Award last year. Ros Ede,
Torbay’s co-ordinator, says, “We were
delighted to win Company’s Get Home
Safely Award. Sometimes nights go
wrong for people and it’s not always
their fault. It’s good to help them get
home safely – especially women, who
can be vulnerable late at night,
particularly if they’ve been drinking.”
It’s kicking-out time in Weymouth and
hordes of drinkers are heading towards
the town’s nightclubs. As we pass a bus
stop, a pretty blonde is sitting with her
skirt askew and her heels splayed at her
feet. The team ask if she wants flip-flops
but she politely refuses before gingerly
slipping her heels back on. They escort
her to the taxi rank and make sure she’s
safely inside a licensed cab before
continuing on their patrol.
She’s one of dozens of women the
Pastors help every weekend, often with
little recognition. As Ann Elledge, from
the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, explains, “It’s
reassuring to know the pastors are on
the streets. They’re genuinely concerned
about the safety of young women and
trying to make a difference. I’d like to
see them in every town.” And, in the
future, that might just happen. “There’s
lots of scope,” explains Reverend Les
Issac. “We’ve got at least 50 new
locations in the pipeline and are looking
to go international.” We can’t help but
think that everywhere from Manchester
to Magaluf will be much safer for it. c
● For more info on Street Pastors or to
recommend a scheme in your town, visit
www.streetpastors.co.uk. For advice on
personal safety, visit the Suzy Lamplugh
Trust at www.suzylamplugh.org
Photographs: Getty Images. *Names have been changed
report