Source
The High Sheriff of West Yorkshire Virginia Lloyd accompanied Halifax Street Angels, Yasmin Clayton, Karl Sedge and Shereen Bruce to get an insight into a typical night for the volunteers who give assistance to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings in Halifax town centre. Virginia Lloyd said: “I was really impressed by the wonderful volunteers who give their time so freely to ensure vulnerable people are cared for in Halifax town centre. “No matter what the circumstances, all volunteers behave in a professional and non-judgemental way.” Source
In an interview with the Observer, Chief Inspector of the Chichester district Tanya Jones, talks about rural crime, burglaries, and why the district is a safe place to live. Chief Inspector Jones manages a team of officers and PCSOs in the district, from Selsey to Midhurst, and looking after a range of settlements means you need a range of priorities. In Selsey, drugs are being tackled, whereas in the north of the district it’s rural crime such as theft of machinery. In the city, there has been a spate of burglaries. However, Chief Inspector Jones said arrests have been made. She said often the police knew who the offenders were in burglaries and it was just a case of catching them out. “You can recognise what materials they use so you can attribute it to them. “We get them in the end,” she said. “The one thing in Chichester with offenders, is it is not necessarily local residents. “We have people coming in from Surrey and Hampshire.” But police in neighbouring areas keep each other in the loop so they are aware of the offenders movements – leading to their arrest. When there is a burglary in a certain area Chief Inspector Jones will increase police presence in that area, often leading the offender to commit crimes in another county. Because the police authorities ‘share information’ they can track an offender and make the arrest. Public support was key to tackling theft in rural areas, sad Ch Insp Jones. “It is in rural areas where we are depending on people phoning in and saying I have just seen a car that was not supposed to be there. “If that car is still there phone in on the nines, we want to be there. “The advice for them is just phone in anything which looks suspicious. “Whether it is a car or people knocking on someone’s front door. I can’t stress enough that we want these calls.” Having a neighbourhood watch, Chichester Police Facebook page and a Twitter account all help in her aim of ‘getting the message out’. For example, the team have been big on warning people about locking their vehicles, following numerous incidents where people have had valuables taken from their unlocked cars. “The most frustrating thing is insecure vehicles or people leaving handbags on show,” she said. But having a means to warn people, whether it is through neighbourhood watch schemes or social networking sites, helps to get the public aware of what is going on. She believes these means of communication will certainly help tackle crime, but it will probably never be eliminated. The trick is to get crime rates as low as possible and keep them there. But each area goes through different trends when it comes to crime. “We’re doing a large amount of work in the Selsey area around drug usage and dealing.” And because of that focus in the town, the police are seeing a drop in drug-related crimes there. “Everyone is just trying to do their best they can and there is always a reason behind why we have done something,” she said. One of the most unreported crimes is domestic violence and Sussex Police have been trying to raise awareness of the problem. “In Chichester last year we had more incidents reported. It sounds strange but it is a good thing because it means more people are talking about it. I always worry if it starts to go down.” And if a domestic-violence victim has the courage to call the police, they have several measures to put in place to protect the person, such as trying to get the abuser to court and getting them in touch with someone from victim support. When asked whether Chichester is perceived as a safe place to live, or whether it actually is, Chief Inspector Jones thinks it is a safe area, but there are certain organisations which help keep it that way. The City Angels for example, help party goers on Friday and Saturday evening in Chichester city, and she thought the presence of this group will keep more people safe. She was also excited about the launch of a group called Redeeming Our Communities, on June 5, which will help police to lower crime levels in various ways by ‘community transformation’ and ‘assisting those on the edge of our communities’. And having a great team behind her also helps. “I have never worked with such a motivated team of people. “A lot of them finish late just to get a job done.” “The PCSO’s are amazing. They work with the community, go to meetings and know people by name.” Having a ‘face’ of the police force in each community helps make that connection with people. And that, along with Chief Inspector Jones’ leadership, will hopefully mean Chichester will continue to be a ‘safe place to live’. The NightLight project in Larne - Jean and Paul joined the team last Saturday as they set up a table in the main pub area offering tea, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits and chat. It was great to see the positive response from those enjoying the three pubs and various takeaways and the rapport the team have with several regulars.
The volunteers, from several of Larne's churches, are excited to see God at work through them in the night-time of the town and to help make a difference in the lives of many and the wider community. This is one of about thirty NightLight projects in Northern Ireland and the Belfast project was one of the first night-time works set up 18 years ago. This Thursday (9th May) is National Day of Prayer for Police. Focus on pray for:
Police officers and staff Safety whilst on duty Success in bringing offenders to justice Changes to Policing This is organised by Christian Police Association - www.capuk.net / www.coact.org.uk You are invited to join
Street Angels Macclesfield for Our First Birthday Celebration to which ALL ARE WELCOME at 7.30pm on Tuesday 4th June at the United Reformed Church, Park Green, Macclesfield Join us for refreshments and a briefing with the Police and the Head of the CCTV Operations Considering volunteering - we need you! Like more information? Just email me or call/text 07715 495701 We very much look forward to seeing you there - with best wishes - Pip Download the Poster Lucy Hardy, coordinator of Croydon Club Angels, writes:
Nine Club Angels excitedly met outside Tiger Tiger – Croydon last Thursday evening (25th April). We were ready for our first official night as Club Angels following our training session from the previous week. Wearing our new t-shirts saying, 'Chat, Help, Listen, Care ps we are Christians ask us more if you want' we were greeted warmly by the manager and taken through the club into the restaurant area where we started the evening with some team time and prayer. Originally we had planned for all the Club Angels to be in the club the whole time walking around in pairs - but as the night was quieter we divided the group into half. Half the team then went into the club in pairs whilst the other half stayed in the restaurant area and prayed. Every half hour we met back, quickly feedback and swapped over. It felt so great knowing that whilst you were walking around the club, your team mates in the restaurant area had your back in prayer! We were praying lots for JOY! A joyful evening for both clubbers and staff and for God's joy to be really present in the club. It was certainly a prayer answered as our team had lots of fun conversations with clubber and there was lots of banter as we asked people how their nights were going and engaged in conversations. Suddenly some of our team saw a group of people emerge together on the dance floor and a 'dance-off' between clubbers began! Door staff rush over to see what was going on but when they saw it was just a fun, friendly, dance-off there was no need to stop it. The guy working in the cloakroom said he had worked there for over 3yrs and had never seen this happen before! As well as banter there were some meaningful conversations going on too. 'Who we were?' 'what we were doing?' 'why we were Christians?' And someone in our team had the chance to pray for a clubber. It was such an awesome first night. I was so excited all evening that we were actually in Tiger Tiger as Club Angels! I'm really excited to see more of God's heart for this club, the clubbers and staff. We're going to be going in every other Thursday evening which is their student night. Bring on next week! A GROUP of 'angels' who help revellers who have drunk too much were praised for their work as they celebrated their first anniversary.
The Windsor Street Angels, run by the Churches Together In Windsor group, belatedly celebrated their first birthday with a get-together at the Baptist Church, in Victoria Street on Monday. The evening was attended by Royal Borough mayor Councillor Colin Rayner, who praised the work of the group which launched in January last year. The Angels, who started Saturday night patrols earlier this month as well as their regular Friday night shifts, distribute water and lollipops to those who have drunk too much as well as flip flops for women struggling in high heels and help people into taxis. To get involved, contact PCSO David Bullock on [email protected] Source The work of Street Angels - CNI Network continues to grow and expand. It was great to read in April of a 56% reduction in violent crime in Chichester on nights when City Angels run - prove that the work carried out by volunteers within the night-time economy can and does have a massive impact. It is also great to see Croydon become the second town running Club Angels (see here for launch night report) after the two pioneer Club Angels in Leeds also great to welcome Aylesbury Street Angels into the SA-CNI family. From binge to better - for communities and individuals - is our heart and vision! April was also a month of Awards! Sanktuary Telford received the Wellington Town Council's Citizens of the Year Team Award; Stockton Town Pastors received the Mayor's Civic Award for Services to the Local Community; South Tyneside Street Angels won the Safer Neighbourhoods Award at the Pride of South Tyneside ceremony; and Oldham Street Angels were announced as finalists in The Fusion Awards Community Group of the Year. Well done to the teams in these three towns. Paul and Jean are continuing to visit local projects to meet volunteers, see first hand the exciting work taking place and to take pictures with the Big Society Award. In April they visited (click the link for photos and a short report):
The plans for the SA-CNI National Conference are coming together - this will be a fantastic weekend of networking, inspiration and sharing and we encourage every local project to aim to send at least one representative. We are grateful to funding from Diageo for this weekend so that we can offer the weekend at £150 per person (the cost of the hotel - bed, all meals, conference, unlimited tea and coffee, use of swimming pool and gym and gala dinner) from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. More details are on this page - please email Paul if you would like paper copies of the Conference Leaflet to circulate toi your volunteers. The Annual General Meeting of SA-CNI is also planned for June - amazingly all that Street Angels - CNI Network has achieved this last financial year was done with an expenditure of under £18,000! (the balance sheet overview is here). Realistically moving forward there is a need to pay a salary that reflects a full time post - if you feel that there is worth and value in the national SA-CNI Network as a local project, church, business or individual please would you consider making a donation? Many thanks for all you do - together we are making the difference! Paul and Jean New communication system for Street Angels projects CNI Network has signed up with the same database and communication system used by the Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network across England and Wales – Neighbourhood Alert. As a result, all Street Angels projects will soon appear on the www.ourwatch.org.uk postcode search and on the Street Angels website - http://cninetwork.neighbourhoodalert.co.uk/ (this is still a draft!) This is an important step in making the projects even more visible and accessible to the public. Visitors to the sites can click through to a ‘project profile’ where they can read more about projects near them, contact the project coordinator (via a secure web form) and apply to be a part of the team. Each project coordinator can login to their account where they can edit their own and their project’s details. CNI Network can use the system to send messages to coordinators and members – either across the network or based on geographical area. Coordinators and members can also choose to receive messages from other organisations – known as Information Providers – if they wish. These settings can be accessed when they login to their account and they can control exactly which types of messages they receive. We hope you find this new system useful and your projects continue to grow in strength and membership. Project coordinators will receive an email shortly with more details about their profile and login; in the meantime if you have any questions please contact Paul - 07725 501465 / email. One of the aims of SA-CNI Network is to offer our local projects practical resources to equip and resource you for the work within the local community. These resources include:
Two new resources have recently been developed - YourNight mobile app from Lincoln Street Pastors and "What is a Street Angel?" comic book from Cleethorpes Street Angels:
From our Blog: Magaluf Street Angels on Majorca TV / Good news from Magaluf Street Angels / Radio Interview Replace glass with polycarbonate If God can use a donkey he can use me! Paul's DigiDisciple article Street Angels highlighted in Neighbourhood Prayer Network Friday email Street Angels in Scarborough increase patrols after tragic death A night of two halves - report from Sanktuary Telford City Changing Prayer book re-printed (this is a recommended read!) Guildford Street Angels Spring Newsletter Street Angels York new bus / York Street Angels on Premier Radio Help Make Hull a Safer Place SHINE - late night projects conference in Guildford Stockton Town Pastors April Newsletter / May Newsletter Sowerby Bridge Street Angels launched on Good Friday Bolton Street Angels part of offering Gifts of Hope Maidenhead Street Angels steward walk of witness Hope Macclesfield Street Angels press feature Street Angels feature in Church Urban Fund Ready-to-Go book Diary for May: Fri 3rd - Paul and Jean attending the Mayor of Calderdale's end of year celebration Tue 7th - Paul speaking on the work of SA-CNI at Halifax Townswomen's Guild Wed 8th - Paul speaking at Stokesley FGBMFI, 7pm for 7.15pm at Stokesley Town Hall Sat 11th - Paul and Jean out with Larne NightLight and hoping to meet other projects in Northern Ireland Thu 16th - Social Media and Your Organisation training in Halifax, 7pm - 9.30pm - see here to book Sat 18th - Paul and Jean at Love Calderdale in Halifax Piece Hall Sat 25th - Paul and Jean, Trevor and Helen at the wedding of Sarah Digby and Iain Mansfield (from Watford Street Angels) Sat 22nd June - SHINE (Sharing Hope In Night-time Economy) regional conference for Street Angels - CNI Network, Street Pastors and others. Speakers: Paul Blakey MBE founder Street Angels - CNI Network; Lynne Owens Chief Constable of Surrey Police; and Debra Green OBE author, popular speaker and founder of Redeeming our Communities. 9.30am - 4.00pm at St Saviour's Church, Guildford - lunch and refreshments provided. Contact Nigel Pool - Fleet Town Centre Project Coordinator - email. Tue 25th June - SA-CNI Annual General Meeting - 6.30pm for free buffet tea, 7.15pm for AGM - Salvation Army, Central Street, Hoyland Common, S74 0FG (junction 36 M1) - see here (please note change in membership that will be agreed at AGM - your comments welcomed). Sat 10th - Sat 17th August - Edinburgh Festival outreach - see here for details. Fri 30th August - Sun 1st September - SA-CNI National Conference - a weekend to bring together SA-CNI projects from across the UK to share, network, learn and to be inspired. Speakers include Gerald Coates, Debra Green OBE and Roy Crowne leading a wide range of workshops. Information and booking is here - please do try and send someone from your project. #CNIPrayer for May:
See more here - Dungannon Nightlight / Bradford Street Angels / Hanley, Stoke on Trent, NightChurch / Hull Street Angels Trinity / Wetherby Street Angels / Buckingham Street Ministries / Carmarthen Night Light, West Wales / Watford Street Angels / Boscombe Angels, Boscombe, Bournemouth / The Living Room, Tenerife Please also pray for funding for the work of SA-CNI and all it does (we have 2 funding applications recently submitted). Prayer Twinning - a great idea from Exmouth Open Door. Twinning towns together for mutual support and prayer (text, email, facebook or call each other with prayer needs and things to share between the 2 projects). We already have linked Exmouth Open Door NightShift and Whitby Street Angels - to register interest email Paul. Skipton Street Angels celebrated four years of working on the streets of Skipton with a celebration event which commissioned new Street Angel volunteers and combined with the Skipton Town Council Civic Service. Mayor of Skipton, Cllr. Wendy Clark is a volunteer with the Street Angels and made the project her charity of the year. The prayer below was said as part of the commissioning when the churches, Mayor and civic dignitaries welcomed and thanked the Street Angels for the work they do and the impact they have had on the town:
God our Father, bless all the members of the Street Angels project Direct and guide them in their work. Give them integrity and courage in their dealings with the people they meet. Sustain them in difficulties. Help them to work together in unselfish and cheerful comradeship. And as they do your work in Skipton, keep them ever mindful that you are always with them. Amen Cameron Springthorpe was interviewed on Talk Europe Radio about the forthcoming work of Street Angels in Majorca, Spain...
Listen here Well done to South Tyneside Street Angels on winning the Safer Neigbourhoods Award at the Pride of South Tyneside Awards last night (28th April). Here is a link to the story of the night in the Shields Gazette. Pictured is Pauline Bittlestone - coordinator of the project - with the award....
Paul and Jean joined Whitby Street Angels for Saturday night during Goth Weekend. The project has now run for just under 12 months and the volunteers have built strong links with those working and those enjoying the night-time economy.
The evening started with prayer and included prayers for projects nationwide as well as Exmouth who are Whitby's Prayer Twin Town! We then went on patrol and chatted with those visiting Whitby for the weekends Goth Festival. One young lady walked up the road with us and shared with us how she was often subject to victimisation because she was a Goth. She was blown away by the fact that Christians cared enough to be out on the streets in the early hours of the morning with a remit to make sure that people are safe and having a great night out. We talked about how people can be Christian and Goth and after hugs all round left her at her hotel. A great night and great to see the difference made in Whitby! The second town to take on Club Angels - Croydon - launched last night (25th April) following training from Beth Tash of Leeds Club Angels. The scheme has run for 12 months in Tiger Tiger and the Leeds Uni Student Clubs and we are now working to see this replicated in nightclubs throughout the UK. The Club Angels wear t-shirts saying, 'Chat, Help, Listen, Care ps we are Christians ask us more if you want'. More information on starting Club Angels will be available next month.
Rebekah Brettle writes in the Neighbourhood Prayer Network Friday email:
Love Calderdale, Halifax Last Saturday, I joined Paul Blakey (Love Your Streets/CNI) at a prayer meeting for Love Calderdale, Halifax. Love Calderdale is taking place on 18th May and is a family festival organised for the local community. Last year 10,000 people took part. We were able to share the vision to pray for streets and quite a number of people were interested. What was striking at this meeting is how much is going on in Halifax as a whole. They listed many projects such as Street Angels, youth work, healing on the street, food drop ins and many more. Halifax used to be a no go area at night time, but in recent years has been transformed into a much safer place, in large part due to the work of Street Angels. You can read more about this in "Neighbours, Transform Your Street." (page 180) Violent Crime in the UK falls This week it has been reported that violent crime in the UK has fallen faster than anywhere else in western Europe. Please give thanks to God for the work of the police, government, youth workers, Street Angels and Street Pastors and all those who have worked towards preventing domestic violence and of course, all the prayers for our nation! There is still more to be done, but this is welcome news! Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22275280 to see a UK wide map showing the best and worst areas of the UK. We believe Christians, just by praying and caring for neighbours living closest, contribute to lower crime levels overall. In time we aim to prove this. Please click here to buy a copy of Neighbours Transform Your Streets. All profits go towards running costs of the charity. In addition, it is written with the sole purpose of encouraging you and helping further the vision of Neighbourhood Prayer Network and similar ministries. We would appreciate it if you would help us spread the word about this resource in your church. Recently someone told us our resource had changed their life! If you want to order a lot of copies for your church, we can offer you a special discount. Please contact us directly. |
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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 |