Street Pastor Scheme to Be Launched in Putney
Volunteers wanted to participate in pilot to make area safe at night
Street Pastors already operate in 240 locations around the UK
December 14, 2023
Positively Putney has announced that it is planning to launch a scheme to improve public safety on Friday nights in Putney.
The safe space scheme, which is set to begin in April 2024 will incorporate Street Pastors, similar to those who are already operating in Kingston.
The goal of the safe space pilot is to ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds feel safe using the area at night, whether they be a resident or a customer. It is hoped this will free up business resources, ease pressure on local police and the NHS by creating an area to suit a variety of needs to night time users.
Positively Putney wants to hear from local people who would be interested in volunteering their time. The street pastor team will consist of three groups of four each of which will work a minimum of one night a month. You will need to be able to commit to a 12-module training course which includes subjects such as counselling skills, drug awareness, knowing your community and street safety. The modules take place online on a Saturday morning from 9am till 1pm. There is only one module which is in person and will be held on the 3 February at St Mark’s, Oval.
In February 2022, Wandsworth borough undertook an audit of the town centres between 6pm and 6am through a series of night drives. During this audit it became clear that Putney has the most thriving night time economy in the borough, with patrons continuing to use the area long after most of the night time venues have closed. The town centre was notably busy until 4am, despite only one venue still being open until that time. Many young people stayed on the streets buying fast-food and continuing to socialise.
The street pastor initiative was pioneered in London in January 2003 by Rev. Les Isaac, Director of the Ascension Trust, and claims to have seen some remarkable results, including a drop in crime in areas where teams have been working. A street pastor is from the Christian community and is willing to help and engage with the most vulnerable in a non-judgemental way regardless of the situation or background. They are currently located in 240 towns around the UK. Every weekend they aim to help to diffuse aggressive situations, give a listening ear, help women, provide flip flops, blankets, water and phone chargers to those in need. They look after the streets ensuring litter and broken glass is disposed of and their presence eases tension and builds friendships.
If you would be interested in being involved in this project fill out this very short form.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |