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An ambitious plan to set up 10 life saving defibrillators in Windsor Town Centre has taken another big step towards becoming a reality. The Windsor Community Defibrillator Project is run by Windsor Lions, Windsor and Eton Rotary Club and Windsor Street Angels who look after the welfare of late revellers. They teamed up with Windsor Town Centre Management and have now raised enough money for eight of the defibrillators to be put into place, the latest two being placed in Bachelors Acre and the atrium outside Waitrose in Windsor Yards. Three more are soon to be installed at the Coach Park in Alma Road, near the Long Walk at Windsor Castle Public House and at the Dedworth Green Baptist Church. The defibrillators can save heart attack victims' lives while waiting for medics to arrive. The team behind the project have also organised essential Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation training (CPR), so that as many people as possible know how to actually use the equipment if someone suffers a heart attack in the street. A major part of the project’s success has been achieved through the support of local businesses and organisations. The locations of the defibrillator are Bachelors Acre, Minton Place, Oxford Road East, Royal Shopping, the Theatre Royal, Waitrose, Windsor and Eton Brewery and Windsor College. Source
Leeds has been praised for having an 'excellent' nightlife for the third consecutive year. The city was first awarded Purple Flag status by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) in 2017 and has retained the award ever since for its commitment to creating 'a positive visitor experience'. A number of schemes have been established in recent years to make sure late-night revellers stay safe, including the Leeds Street Angels and the Angels of Freedom, who work specifically in the city's LGBT+ Freedom Quarter on Lower Briggate. Leeds City Council has also introduced a dedicated Street Support Team, with ambassadors giving up their time to check on the welfare of people enjoying a night out in Leeds city centre. Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for regeneration, transport and planning, said: "We are delighted and extremely proud that Leeds has been awarded Purple Flag status for a third successive year. "This really is a tremendous achievement and recognition of the positive and excellent work that is being undertaken by so many partners on a daily basis to make sure that the Leeds night time economy is for visitors, attractive, diverse and safe." There are more than 30 towns and cities across the country that have been awarded Purple Flag status. The ATCM also looks at the vibrancy, diversity and cleanliness of a town or city centre between the hours of 5pm and 5am. Source
THE Vicar of Oldham led the delivery of the message of the Parish Church’s televised Christmas Day service towards focus and helping the town’s vulnerable and rough sleepers. As the historic church looked magnificent during the BBC broadcast, the Rev Derek Palmer, shared the stage with Oldham Street Angels and OL1 Community Association and Nasim Ashraf, who was instrumental in opening up local mosques to the homeless during last year’s harsh winter. Street Angels medic Jemma Heap told the millions watching on TV how the organisation has been operating in the town for the last seven years, volunteering every Saturday night, helping the vulnerable and those in need, including rough sleepers. “We work with Oldham Council, the NHS, police and other local churches. “My role as one of the medics is to prevent unnecessary visits to accident and emergency departments and to ensure visitors get home safely. As a member of this church, it’s a very practical way of demonstrating Christ’s love to all people.” Andi Gregory from OL1 told how last year the homeless were fed in the church and slept in the community centre. “Volunteers from the church help us with the bread and butter things and our food share scheme is providing 150 families with groceries at a nominal cost. We are a community and a church linked together.” Mr Ashraf, meanwhile, called for unity across faiths in Oldham. He said: “The things that we can do together are far greater than the things we can do while we sit divided. “Let’s all unite as one human kind and make that difference.” Mr Palmer told how the night shelter at the church is running for three months this winter. He told the congregation: “Christmas is about us – it’s about opening ourselves up to what God is trying to do today, and that even if we don’t fully understand what it means, there is room for Him in our lives. That want to be part of what he is doing. Christmas invites us to be part of the story. “Our part of the story is the night shelter running for three months and sleeper drop-ins. “The real test of Christmas is whether we’ve opened our hearts to God and let His love fill us so we become part of His story and be angels to people around us. May that be something we do this Christmas and always.” Also leading the service were The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd David Walker, Canon Jean Hurlston, and the curate of Oldham Parish Church, the Rev Charlie Annis. The grade II-listed Oldham Parish Church dates back to 1830, but there has been a church on the site since 1280, when a small chapel served the townships of Oldham, Chadderton, Royton and Crompton. Following the service, Mr Palmer told The Oldham Times the church had been asked to host the live broadcast back in June. He said: "When I got the initial email, I thought one of my friends was scamming me. But it was an incredible privilege to be asked to do this. It was a chance to show what an incredibly diverse community we serve. "The church looked amazing on television thanks to the extra lighting that was brought in and this may be something we will look at." Media Release - Lent prayer guide aims to make communities like new again: A Christian charity has produced a Lent Prayer Guide to help people pray for the night-time economy as well as participate in a daily #Do1NiceThing challenge between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday (6th March - 21st April) Christian Nightlife Initiatives Network have produced the resource as a tool for the church to prayerfully engage in issues that are prevalent within communities at night. The booklet, which has a theme of Making City Streets Like New Again, showcase some of the agencies and organisations who are helping bring change within society including Street Angels, Club Angels and Festival Angels. The Lent Prayer Guide, which is available to download for free from cninetwork.org/lent, includes reflections from national church leaders including: Bishop of Wakefield, Right Reverend Tony Robinson; founder of ROC Debra Green OBE; former General Superintendent of Elim, John Glass; theologian and author John Drane; Director of Christians on the Left, Louise Davies; Director of Christian Police Association, Lee Russell; and CEO of Mercy UK, Arianna Walker. Included within the Prayer Guide are daily #Do1NiceThing ideas which encourage people to serve others and the wider community each day in Lent. The resource also includes words of support for CNI Network and local projects from leaders within a wide range of organisations including the Evangelical Alliance, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, Churches Together in England, Cinnamon Network, Big Church Day Out and Purple Flag. Founder and CEO of CNI Network, Paul Blakey MBE, says of the Lent Prayer Guide, "This resource is a fantastic way to get the church across the UK engaged in prayer with an aim of making our night-time communities like new again. Week after week volunteers from the church and community are partnering to serve on the frontline and provide help and support in a wide variety of ways. I believe that prayer and action go hand in hand and the results are tangible with lower crime, problems solved and communities strengthened. CNI Network's Prayer Guide will help more people engage in prayer and action which will benefit society even further." The Lent Prayer Guide can be downloaded for free as a PDF and image files, which can be shared on social media, from cninetwork.org/lent . NEW YEAR HONOURS: Medal for Chaplain who spends nights on Dundee’s streets helping the vulnerable12/31/2018
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A Dundee chaplain who gives up his time to help those in need has been recognised in Queen’s New Year honours list Receiving a British Empire Medal is Rock Street Chaplains co-ordinator Andrew Burns. Andrew, known as Andy, set up Rock Street in 1999 and, along with other chaplains, he goes out into the city each weekend to speak to those on a night out who may be vulnerable, as well as helping the homeless. The chaplains can be out on the streets across the city centre from 10.45pm each night until as late as 3.30am. Andy said: “We work at night. We get people into taxis. Some folk just need a chat. Folk sometimes ask us about God, so we do chat to them about religion. We try to be a friendly face on the street at night.” For those seeking help and referral to other groups, Andy said the street chaplains are mainly the first point of contact. Speaking about the award he said: “I got a letter about November. It was a big shock. I was delighted but shocked. “The hardest thing has been keeping it quiet. “My wife knew and my son and daughter knew but they were sworn to secrecy. They were shocked and pleased. “We will probably go out for dinner as a family in the new year. The whole team will go out and celebrate.” Andy added he couldn’t do it without the team. “We have a big team – the amazing people that we work with – without them, I couldn’t have done it,” he said. “It’s the guys and girls and the ladies that are really in the thick of things. “This British Empire Medal is for them as much as for me.”
Andy Burns who set up ROCK Street Chaplains, Dundee in 2000 and has since served on the CNI Network trustee board and supported CNI Network in our expansion particularly in Northern Ireland is awarded the BEM in the New Years 2019 honours list . CNI Network congratulate Andy on this well deserved honour...
Hi folks.. The news will break later this evening but I want all past and present Street Chaplains to know first that I have been honoured in the new years list with a BEM (British Empire Medal) for work with Street Chaplains. However I want you all to know that this is as much your honour as it is mine. You folks are the real hero's and the Street Chaplains before you. Without you this ministry would never have been the success that it is. Thank you everyone. God bless you all, you are an amazing group of people to share in ministry with. Listening, Caring, Sharing. Here are a couple of photos of Andy Burns BEM in action!!!! Source
As many people are gearing up for New Year’s celebrations, one Barrow community group is preparing for a busy few weeks. Barrow Street Angels is dedicated to providing support and care to party goers out on the town in the early hours of the weekend. Each Saturday night, a group of six volunteers venture out on to the streets of Barrow to offer help to those revellers who are in need of assistance, from providing flipflops to women no longer wishing to walk in their high heels to using lollypops as a way of diffusing arguments. Meeting around midnight, the group of volunteers stock up on water, flip flops and lollypops. Before heading out, we stopped for a short prayer, asking for everyone in Barrow to have a safe night. The volunteers are all in jovial spirits as we head out in to the night; party goers recognise the signature orange jackets and wave or come over for a chat. As we turn on to Cavendish Street, two young ladies stop to tell the Street Angels “you do so much for the everyone who goes out in Barrow, so thank you for that.” The compliments and messages of thanks continue throughout the night, with some people wanting to know more about the group and others asking where they can get involved and volunteer. The Street Angels have been volunteering in Barrow for just over a year now, with the first group going out Saturday October 7, 2017.ver for Lollypops or bottles of water. Jonny Harrison, who has been a volunteer for Street Angels since the group was created, said: “Since we started going out, we’ve seen less and less incidents during the night.” As the night continues, the streets become busier and the crowds become increasingly lively. You can hear minor arguments breaking out between groups of friends, but even the sight of the street angels seems to calm the situation down. A calm “is everything ok?” and offers of lollypops and water soon dissolve any animosity and the conversations soon return to how much everyone appreciates what the group does. One young lady calls from across Cavendish Street and rushes over to thank the Street Angels for helping her order a taxi on a previous weekend. She said: “Knowing you guys are out makes me and my friends feel a lot safer on a night out. It’s good to there’s always someone to help.” Street Angels was set up by Reverend Sophie Carnaby. As Police Chaplain to South Cumbria Police, she was aware of the pressure placed on police and other emergency services every weekend to make sure the party goers of Barrow enjoy themselves without getting into trouble. Rev Carnaby said: “We offer flip flops to women who might need them, we also give out lollypops to people in an effort to diffuse aggressive situations. “We’ve found they work very well as a means of calming down these kinds of situations. You offer someone a lollypop they often forget what they were angry about, even if they don’t, it’s very difficult to stay angry at someone else when they’re standing sucking on a lollypop.” Rev Carnaby said she hopes the group can help Barrow party goers to stay safe. She said: “We just want people to enjoy their nights out and get home safely. “We walk people home and call family members to come collect them if it is required. “We also take on the responsibility of calling for ambulances if it is really necessary.” Rev Carnaby smiled as she recollects a man who wanted to go to hospital because he was burping too much. She said: "We reassured him if he drank his beer more slowly things would be fine and he was soon on his way. “Our real aim is to reduce the stress on the emergency services in order to allow them to go deal with the real issues.” Barrow Street Angels' work supporting the emergency services has been praised by Barrow Police. Inspector Jim Bailey said: “Anybody who volunteers to contribute to the community and helps make it better is doing a great thing. “These people are volunteers. They are coming together to contribute out of their own goodwill. “They have helped contribute to making sure people in Barrow have a safe night out. “We work very closely with them and we support them at any opportunity we can. “These are people coming forward and helping the community.” For Rev Carnaby, Barrow Street Angels' work is as much for the people as it is for emergency services. She said: “At the end of the day we’re not just there to support the emergency services, we’re there to support the people. “If our work means more people get to sleep in their own beds rather than in A&E or a jail cell, then that’s great." “We care about our town and those who live here.” Anyone interested in joining Street Angels should go to their Facebook page.
Oldham Street Angels were featured on BBC 1's Christmas Day Service which was broadcast live from Oldham Parish Church.
Street Angels heaven-sent for casualties of messtivities - feature in Sunday Mirror/People12/23/2018
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Street Angels heaven-sent for casualties of messtivities Santa’s big helpers were kept busy on Black Eye Friday. Street Angels were on patrol to help stricken revellers including a young man who collapsed unable to speak. His worried friend said: “We bought pills from some guy – it’s gone wrong.” They wrapped the man in foil and gave first aid until paramedics took over. Street Angels volunteers ease the strain on the NHS on one of the busiest nights of the year for drink-related injuries. Stuart Robertshaw, one of the eight on patrol in Leeds, West Yorks, said: “That was distressing. He’d smashed his head on the pavement then his condition worsened as the drugs took hold.” There are over 130 Street Angels projects in the UK, part of the Christian Nightlife Initiative founded by Paul and Jean Blakey. Volunteers are first-aiders and partner with door staff, local authorities and NHS to create a “safety network”, staying in touch via radio. The NHS has also spent £300,000 on drunk tanks this year to ease pressure on A&Es and the Sunday People joined a unit in Birmingham. The first reveller to get treatment was a man in his 30s who fell and cracked his head open in a club opposite. As he was treated, his friends began shouting at staff. Mike Duggan, operations manager of the treatment unit on Broad Street, said: ”We get verbal and physical abuse.” Back in Leeds, Street Angels were helping a man in his 50s who thought his drink was spiked. Bouncer Bernard Armstrong, 45, said: “He’s been vomiting and doesn’t know how to get home. I can’t spend time dealing with this so the Street Angels are a godsend.” Project coordinator Katie Waters, 34, calms the man and gets him into a taxi. Flagging women in heels gratefully accept flip-flops the Angels hand out. In some cities, they get through 2,000 pairs in six months. When the streets are finally quiet at around 3.30am, the team call it a night. Katie says: “It’s satisfying to know you’ve helped people have a great time.” |
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ROC Angels - an initiative of ROC (Redeeming Our Communities)
Charity - 1139817 / Registered Company - 7327258 Postal Address: ROC Angels, c/o The King's Centre, Park Rd, Halifax, HX1 2TS E-Mail: [email protected] (founder / CEO) / Phone: 07725501465 |