Dundee Street Chaplains have had a busy summer at both Edinburgh and Brechin Festivals. Here are some photos from the visits:
Leeds Festival Angels was another great success with 120 volunteers running Lost Property, a Prayer Cafe and detached work across the festival site from 12noon Wednesday 20th August till 12noon Bank Holiday Monday 25th August. The festival was visited by Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines - see his report here. The teams served endless cups of tea and coffee, helped many who were suffering the effects of lack of food, cold nights and alcohol and are in the process of reuniting 1170 items of lost property and owners. You can find Festival Angels at: web / Facebook / Twitter Source - below translated from Spanish in Google
A group of volunteers selflessly helps Balearic drunken youths return home to tourists.In Magaluf (Calvia, Majorca island) are common young tourists who drink unlimited, committed many stupidities and many of them end up lying on the floor with lost consciousness. To help these young people has created a ' vigilante 'is watching over them as if angels were addressed . In fact, precisely called ' Street Angels 'ie the Street Angels , a volunteer group that patrols the streets of this Balearic town helps youth and accompanying uncontrolled home when not even have feet. The promoter of this initiative is Cameron Springthorpe , a British resident in Mallorca and has imported a model of Christian volunteer already exists in England, because it was born in 2005 in Hallifax. "We just want to show people the practical love of Jesus, we believe that if He were now walking the earth, Magaluf is exactly the kind of place where He would want to be there and be his hands, his feet and helping people the same way in which He would." - Cameron Springthorpe, driver of Street Angels Magaluf. This group of volunteers works only on weekends, 4 hours Saturday and four hours on a Sunday , in the 'rush hour' of slippage, between 4:00 am and 8:00 am. "It makes you feel good to see so much response and that people recognize you.Being light in such a dark place. It's great." - Simone Mooj, Volunteer Street Angels. After accompanying the boy or the girl home , you put a bracelet so you know who has helped and how they arrived at their house , so do not panic asking the question how I have come here? Perhaps the first thought you have the morning after a binge of this caliber. The Street Angels also help when one of these kids lost passport or just need information. Jackie Sowerby a volunteer explains that had an impact, "someone went to the beach and left all his belongings in the sand when he returned had stolen everything, including his passport, but fortunately God helped us find the pants she had lost and find his passport. That was great, that's one thing that I can not forget. " They are recognized because patrol with reflective vests and intention now is to get more volunteers to organize patrols in Palma and El Arenal, other areas of the Balearic archipelago also need this type of service. "You feel as if you've done something positive and you have not just talked about the situation." - Denise Skinner, Volunteer Street Angels. The news have met this afternoon listening to the radio and have completed information streetangels.es , Web initiative. Source
Bishop Nick spent Sunday evening at Leeds Festival - finding a path through the thousands of tents, beer cans and mud, catching a bit of the Arctic Monkeys and seeing the work of the Festival Angels - a team of church volunteers who offer a point of safety and support during the four-day event. Based at the prayer tent, they offer a place of sanctuary where anyone can come to chat, relax, pray and have a hot drink. They also patrol the site, offering help or a listening ear. Nick Baines says, “The Angels are an impressive bunch of dedicated volunteers and their work is obviously valued by many at the festival. The music and the atmosphere are fantastic, but people can still feel vulnerable for whatever reason and it’s great that they provide a safety net and place of welcome and support for anyone who needs it”. The demand for the work of the Festival Angels has grown in the four years they’ve been attending the festival. Co-ordinator, the Revd Andy Nicholson (whose Thorner parish covers the festival site), says, “When we began we had 20 volunteers and the prayer tent was just open during the day. But given the need, the tent is now open 24/7 and we have 100 volunteers. We also manage the lost property tent and patrol the site offering helping hands and listening ears – with the simple aim of showing the love of God to festival goers. “Over the years we've had many - and often quite profound - conversations with people (particularly when they’ve been recently bereaved). We also help pitch tents and last year when tents got soaked, we gave away sleeping bags and tents and manned an emergency drop-in tent for people to crash in.” The Festival Angels form a wider network of volunteers providing well-being to music lovers at festivals all over the UK. In Leeds they come from Churches Together, a multi denominational organisation, and Leeds Street Angels, whose teams regularly provide care to those in need on a night out in the city centre.
From this article:
The Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, will be visiting Bramham Park on Sunday. He will be meeting the Festival Angels, a team of church volunteers whose prayer tent will be open at the event to fans who need a comforting arm around their shoulders. The Rt Rev Baines said: “The music, the crowds and the atmosphere of festivals are fantastic, but people can still feel vulnerable for whatever reason and it’s great that these volunteers provide a safety net and place of welcome and support for anyone who needs it.” Source
The Street Angels in Whitby are looking for more volunteers as they reach their second anniversary. They need people to join them listening to and helping vulnerable people on the streets of the town late at night. In the last year, they've helped over a thousand people on Friday and Saturday evenings. They've also picked up over a hundred bottles and dozens of glasses. Graham Storer from Whitby Street Angels said: "You might actually think that we spend all our time picking up drunks from the gutter. It's not actually like that thankfully, most people are very responsible. The really big thing that we do is simply converse with people, so as we're wandering round, if somebody wants to talk to us, we'll talk to them." For more information on the Whitby Street Angels, you can call Graham Storer on 01947 810776 or go to www.street-angels.org.uk Source
VOLUNTEERS who help people in Beverley enjoy a safe night out are preparing for their busiest night of the year. The Beverley Street Angels will be out in force on Wednesday as Beverley Racecourse holds The Journal Ladies' Day. The group, which was set up by volunteers from several of the town's churches, aims to make sure people get home safely after a night out. Carolyn Bradbury, of Beverley Community Church, said: "There will be about ten of us out on Ladies' Day and we will start work earlier than normal, at 5.30pm. "We have bought a large supply of flip-flops for the ladies, to help them if their feet are hurting from wearing heels all day or, if we are lucky enough and the weather has been warm, their feet may swell, making their shoes hurt. "We will also be handing out bottles of water because, if alcohol has been consumed, people can become dehydrated. "We will also be on hand to offer first aid, if needed." The Beverley Street Angels were formed in August 2012. Since forming, volunteers have handed out 218 bottles of water and 344 pairs of flip-flops and collected 522 empty glasses and bottles. They have also spent 1,171 hours patrolling the town in the evenings and have given directions to 85 people. Mrs Bradbury said: "When the Street Angels formed, we decided we wanted to help those who may be vulnerable on a night out. "Normally, this means people who are on their own who get lost and cannot find their way to a taxi rank or to the bus station. "In one particular case we found a man who was lying in a doorway, worse for wear, and had his mobile phone on his chest. "These are the people we help." The Beverley Street Angels are on patrol, usually in pairs, between 9.30pm on Saturdays and 3am on Sundays. Mrs Bradbury said: "People will be able to see us as we wear high-visibility vests and carry radios to keep in contact with staff at our office in Saturday Market. "We can often be seen picking up empty bottles and cans that can really hurt people if stood on. "We are also there watching out for vulnerable people and give out free bottles of water if people have consumed too much alcohol." Establishing the Street Angels cost £2,000, which was raised by churches including Toll Gavel Methodist Church and Beverley Minster. The money was used to buy radios and other equipment to patrol the town centre. The group now relies on funding applications, donations and fundraising to continue. ![]() At Charisma Art Limited - home of the ‘Dudes with Wings’ products - we design, manufacture and distribute award winning Christian fine art and gift products. We are expanding our direct sales and are beginning the roll out the party plan side of our business. For this we are looking for enthusiastic people who have knowledge and experience promoting and developing a party plan business and who will become key members of this direct sales team. If you like the idea of being your own boss and relish the thought of being in at the start of an exciting opportunity, one which will develop with your input, then this may be for you (or perhaps someone you know?). Just to be absolutely clear this is not a job offer, but it is an opportunity to start your own business selling Charisma Art Ltd’s products as well as developing a network of other independent distributors. If this sounds like the opportunity for you please email: [email protected] with your contact details (name, address and phone numbers etc) and we will get back to you. If you cannot email then call 01422 353472, but email is better for us and will make sure that we keep you details on file Source
Reporter ALEX CAREY joins the volunteers helping to make town-centre streets safer AS I found myself yards away from a vicious drunken brawl in Oldham town centre this weekend I was taken aback — not by the unconscious young man lying in the road bleeding from his head but by the inspiring work of a group of angels. The Oldham Street Angels to be precise. Only hours earlier I had received a tweet from Oldham Parish Church priest Jean Hurlston inviting me to join her and the Street Angels on their weekly weekend patrol of the town centre. The Street Angels volunteer their time from 11pm to 3am every Saturday night to help those enjoying a night out in the town. I must admit I was slightly reluctant at first, but I headed down to the Street Angels office — a shop unit at the bottom of Yorkshire Street —at midnight. The group has been given the property rent-free by a kind-hearted landlord, who simply told them, “How could I charge you when you do the work that you do?” Training This week was slightly different to others because, like me, Oldham councillors Amanda Chadderton and Susan Dearden tagged along with the Angels to see for themselves how they help people. Jean started by telling us how she set up Oldham Street Angels in November, 2012, when she moved to the parish from Bolton — where she was part of the Bolton Street Angels. At first it was just members of Oldham Parish Church that accompanied Jean in offering any support they could to people out and about in the town centre late on Saturday nights. This has now grown to 19 volunteers, all from different walks of life, giving up their free time to help others. All volunteers receive training before taking to the streets — covering first aid, communication, substance misuse and conflict resolution among other subjects. Jean said: “We really want to raise the profile of Oldham, we want people to come here and enjoy their night out. We’re here to help people do that really. “If we can help in anyway we will. We prevent people from being victims of crime as well as preventing them committing crime. “If people have had a bit too much to drink or have injured themselves we can help them and in some cases we escort people home to make sure they are safe. “We also give out flip flops to ladies that are struggling to walk in the shoes they are wearing. Some women can end up spraining or even breaking their ankles in certain footwear.” The team has also recently secured funding from Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to enable it to have two professional medics as part of the group every Saturday — this particular week they were joined by Dawn Sewards, head of governance and clinical leadership at Go to Doc Denton, and Judith Ringland, an advance nurse practitioner. After I was debriefed I headed out with one of the team leaders, Susan Fozard, and instantly we were called to the doorway of an unused bar in Yorkshire Street where a young man called Mike had passed out and hit his head against steel shutters. After a few minutes of talking to Mike he finally responded but was not making much sense. Although he was not really injured, he had clearly had a lot to drink and said he did not know where he was, that he had no money and had lost his bank card. Mike was escorted back to the Angels’ office where he was given a medical check and helped to sober up with water before he found his money and was on his way. Councillor Chadderton said: “I think what they do is incredible. The things they do every week are outstanding and I think in particular it is really impressive how well all of the partners work together to help people — everyone is just in sync with each other.” What the whole experience highlighted is just how important and remarkable the Street Angels are — they are a crucial part of the town centre’s set-up and offer a unique, selfless service. l Contact Jean Hurlston on [email protected] for more information on Oldham Street Angels or if you would like to help. |
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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 |