The continued success of “Street Pastors” in Bangor looks more secure following a recent grant of £1,500 from the Police and Community Trust (PACT).
The Pastors, drawn from a team of 14 volunteers, have been a regular sight on Bangor’s city centre streets offering help and support to anyone in need. All the volunteers come from local churches through the Cytun organisation – “Churches Together” and since they began in November 2010 they have assisted hundreds on the streets from providing bottled water, emergency footwear and first aid to those who come into the city to socialise and blankets, comfort and care to the homeless and vulnerable.
Street Pastors initially started in London in 2003 and now have 250 branches nationwide with 14 in Wales, including one in Wrexham. Street Pastors provide an invaluable service to the community freeing up local Police to attend more urgent matters. A team of four volunteers takes to the streets between 10.00pm and 4.00am every Friday night equipped with radio’s for contact with Police and CCTV as well as bottled water, first aid kit and flip flops.
One of the Pastors, Paul Rowlinson said “Our aim is to help to make the streets safer at night and to offer care and practical help to anyone who needs it. At first, people were curious and asked lots of questions about who we were and what we were doing. When we explain that we are volunteers they are very positive and grateful for the practical help we offer. People now see us as a service, there to help people, and they will often tell us if perhaps they see someone who might be alone and vulnerable and in need of help.”
He added: “We are very grateful to PACT for their financial support, which we will spend on things we give out like flip-flops and bottled water and on first aid and other equipment.”
Local Officer Sergeant Emma Williams of North Wales Police said “There is no doubt the Pastors provide a calming presence of the streets as well as support and comfort to those in need which allows Police Officers to be deployed to more urgent incidents. We have an excellent working relationship and a joint goal, reducing the incidents of crime and anti social behaviour and making the streets of Bangor safer for everyone”
The Street Pastors “patch” is not just limited to the streets of Bangor and they have assisted at pre-planned events such as the Snowdonia marathon, Bangor Carnival and Olympic Torch relay. The extra funding will allow them to purchase flip flops, bottled water, foil blankets and first aid equipment but further funding is still required to maintain the levels of service, training, administration and more expensive purchases like radio’s.
Paul Rowlinson added “We are very grateful for the funding received and we could always use more to maintain the service and expand it to other areas. If anyone would like to donate they can send a cheque payable to bangor stree Pastots, c/o Penrallt Baptist Church, Ffordd Caergybi, Bangor LL57 2EU”