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VOLUNTEERS are being urged to wing their way to the aid of revellers in Hull, as part of a new scheme to make the city a safer place to socialise. Hull Street Angels Trinity have launched a recruitment drive to find volunteers willing to patrol the Lowgate and Trinity Quarter area of the Old Town. Operating from Holy Trinity Church, they will walk the streets in groups of two or three on Friday and Saturday nights and be on hand to offer practical help and support to anyone who becomes vulnerable during a night out. Similar to the street angels already operating along Princes Avenue in west Hull, they will be armed with two-way radios, first-aid kits, bottles of water and flip-flops for women feeling a bit footsore in high heels. Karen Thompson, who has been appointed the scheme's co-ordinator, said: "I am really excited and thrilled to be part of this innovative project. "Hull Street Angels are operating along Princes Avenue and have made a positive contribution to their community. "It is envisaged that this new initiative will be equally as successful as the last. "I am looking for individuals who are passionate about supporting vulnerable people, Hull's night-time economy and are also keen for the city of Hull be recognised as being a safe, welcoming and entertaining place for one and all." The angels will forge links with door staff as they attempt to ensure those in need get home safely and volunteers will receive first-aid training and other support. Ms Thompson said: "We have been in operation for almost a year, making Hull city centre a safer place and supporting vulnerable people who may be intoxicated. "We have had a significant impact on reducing number of visits to accident and emergency due to intoxication, as well as being instrumental in Hull achieving the Purple Flag Award for being a safe city. "We desperately need volunteers for one or two nights a month on a Friday or Saturday night. "They will patrol from 10pm to 2am and they will receive full training, a uniform and personal development." To volunteer or find out more, visit www.hullstreetangelstrinity.org.uk or call Karen on 07580 032779. Men at Work on Premier Radio visits York Street Angels and Salvation Army over Christmas:
http://www.premierradio.org.uk/shows/saturday/men%20at%20work.aspx?mod_page=11 (On Demand tab at bottom - 27 Dec 2010) Source - a very sad situation and we ask that the Street Angels - CNI Network family pray for Michael's family and for the wider town and for the Street Angels as they connect with people on the streets...
A volunteer group has increased its number of street patrols in Scarborough following a fatal stabbing in the town last Saturday. Christian group Scarborough Street Angels said it had doubled the number of people on duty. According to the group's website, volunteers patrol the street at weekends offering help to people who are "vulnerable or in difficulty". The project's coordinator Dan Able said people had been shocked by the death. Mr Able said the increase in the number of patrols was to provide reassurance. "We're not a security force. We're there to help with the aftermath of a situation, or to help calm it down before it happens," he said. Michael Vincent Graham, 19, was stabbed near an amusement arcade on Foreshore Road at 23:35 BST on Saturday. A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder. He was also charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on a 17-year-old, who remains in hospital. The boy is being held in a youth detention centre and will appear at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday. Paul and Jean joined the amazing team of Club Angels in Leeds on Friday (19th April). The evening started with Beth Tash talking about training that took place in Croydon the previous evening. Twenty people took part in the training and it is hoped Croydon Club Angels will launch soon with people from other localities in London wanting to launch Club Angels in local Tiger Tiger and other bars.
We then heard from the team leaders in Tiger Tiger Leeds and the Student Bar at Leeds University. They spoke of talking to girls in the ladies toilets and telling them that they are beautiful because God made them beautiful and of the unity and joy between team members. The door-staff in the clubs recognise that when Club Angels are not around the atmosphere in the club is one of chaos and violence. There are plans to follow up those who have connected with the Club Angels at the end of term with BBFU (bacon buttie for you) - bacon butties delivered free of charge to student houses to bless them! The team then had training on listening to God in terms of asking God to highlight people that He wants to speak to - this was later put into practice with one Club Angel having a message for a brunette in a red beret and a name linked to her and a penguin. Both came into the club at the same time and it was great to connect them to God who loves them and wants to connect with them. It was great to wander round the club, chat to people and see a little of the amazing work of Club Angels. Club Angels is currently developing a "How to start Club Angels" page on this web site and it is hoped that we can begin to see this working across the UK (and beyond). ![]() Would you like to start a community development project at your church? Are you feeling daunted and don’t know where to start? In this section, we’ve compiled details of organisations who have: • a passion for helping churches be more effective in their community, and • ready-to-go projects that have been tried and tested elsewhere. These national organisations can give you the tools you need, as well as advice and support throughout the whole process of setting up your project in your local area. For a downloadable version - click here. Each organisation has provided details on benefits of the project to your community and church, what services they offer and what contributions the local church needs to make. There are many advantages in partnering with a national organisation to set up a community project: Projects start sooner Churches can hit the ground running with pre-established procedures, promotional material and governance structures. There will be existing monitoring systems (and often specifically designed computer templates/packages). More effective Rather than starting from scratch, you can access the experience, best practice and learning from established organisations that have already gone through the process. Reduces isolation and shares good practice Running community projects can be isolating and tiring. These organisations have networks (through annual conferences and e-newsletters) that bring project workers/church leaders together to share learning, common problems and to re-energise one another. Less risk These project models are established with clear protocols. You are not in it alone. If you face issues or problems, you have somebody at the end of a phone who can advise and support you. Consequently, it is easier for church leaderships to manage. Finally, this partnership is not the same as becoming a local branch of a national organisation. These projects are owned and run by local churches and so have a high degree of ownership. Consequently they are successful at accessing the enthusiasm, finances, volunteers and prayer of local people. Source Although you might not have heard from us for a little while, there has been lots happening behind the scenes and we are now ready to start meeting. :)
Police Backing! Although the council has decided they cannot officially endorse the project, (at this stage) I was able this week to meet with the Chief of Police for Calvia district, Jose Antonio Navarro. He was very enthusiastic and is totally on board with the project and will do all he can to help it be a success! Firstly, he will arrange a meeting for us with all his night time police officers to introduce us to one another. Secondly, he will provide training in ‘Working with the police’ and ‘Conflict management’. He is very keen for it to be a success and also to be setup in such a way that it can be an example for other cities in the future! To have such a positive connection with someone in his position, is without doubt the result of all the prayer that has gone into this and we are very excited by the opportunities this will provide. Training in Santa Ponsa! Senor Navarro, (the Chief of Police) has asked us to begin the project in Santa Ponsa, and to use this as our training area, working out our procedures and developing a working relationship with the police, then in due course to move over to Magaluf. We have agreed with this as the benefits of establishing this connection will be very worthwhile. Also we see the wisdom, in terms of allowing us to get up to speed as a team in a slightly more relaxed environment, before moving over to Magaluf. The vision has not changed! Magaluf is the goal and it is fully where we intend to be working, however it is true that Santa Ponsa has similar needs and we are excited to learn there, and see how we can help before moving over to Magaluf. We have not set a time scale for this training period, it may be a couple of months and it may even be the first season, but until we are up and running and find out what we need to learn, and see how we are received we can’t tell. Our only concern with this change is that we don’t want to offer help in Santa Ponsa, and then just abandon it for Magaluf, and we are not 100% sure how this will develop. Perhaps there will be enough volunteers to enable us to cover both in due course, or perhaps we will find the needs are not great enough to warrant our staying, either way we know that God will make it clear the next step as we listen to Him. First Aid Training to be provided by Juaneda Juaneda Medical Centre, have offered to provide us with first aid training for everyone, we are waiting to hear what dates they can run the courses, but this is great news! Also they are considering how they can help in other ways, and I am continuing to discuss this with them, so please pray for these meetings…. 27th April @ 19:00 - The first Street Angels Get Together! We are going to hold our first meeting to discuss training plans, share coffee and biscuits, and get to know one another on the 27th April at 1900 at the Upper Room Church in Magaluf. For directions click here: Please mark this in your calendar, sorry we haven’t been able to give more notice but we have been waiting for these meetings to occur to help us plan. Whether you have decided 100% or not to join us, it doesn't matter, please come along, this is a great opportunity to meet everyone and to see how you can be involved. We are so excited! We can't wait to get together and encourage one another, this summer is going to be great! Spread the word, bring a friend and don't be late :) God bless you all from the Street Angels Team Source
A BENEVOLENT team of volunteers who help out people who have drunk too much on a night out have increased their patrols. The Street Angels, run by the Churches Together in Windsor, patrol the centre of Windsor between 10.30pm and 3am caring for those who have drunk too much by handing out flip flops, water and lollipops and helping people into taxis. The team have been running for more than a year and have now expanded their patrols for a trial period to include Saturdays as well as Fridays with the first Saturday patrol taking place on Saturday last week (6/4). Carol McCall, a volunteer in the scheme, said: "It was so much busier than on a Friday though people seemed a lot friendlier. "We have wanted to do Saturdays for a while, but we didn't have enough people." More than 30 Angels are currently involved in the project and the trial period will determine whether enough volunteer interest can be sustained to keep Saturday patrols running. To get involved with the Street Angels, contact PCSO David Bullock on [email protected] or call 07816 848231 Well done to two projects who received awards last night (16th April): Sanktuary Telford received Wellington Town Council's Citizens of the Year Team Award. Shown in the photo is Cllr Frank Burns presenting the award to Sanktuary representatives Deborah Reck, Mark Berry and Sean Spellan. Stockton Town Pastors received the Mayors Civic Award for Services to the Local Community (below Steve Brock receiving the Award from the Mayor)
Our local projects pick up thousands of glasses and bottles from the streets every year - this is to prevent them from becoming a weapon, getting broken and ending up in someone's foot and to help clean up our town and city centres. We support calls to replace glass with polycarbonate as it would go a long way in reducing injuries within the night-time economy. There are two main campaigns which Street Angels - CNI Network supports: Pop Campaign: Pop-campaign aims to get glass banned from late nights bars and clubs and replaced with recyclable Polycarbonate glasses and PET bottles. Founded in 2005 by Marjorie & Robert Golding after their son @Blake_Golding was attacked with a glass bottle on Christmas Eve 2004. GLASS SHATTERS LIFE MATTERS The new official government petition can be signed here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43147 Facebook Page / Web Site Bottle Stop:
"In the early hours of 4th April 2012, my husband, Phil, was the victim of an attack at a corporate event in London. He was stabbed in the left side of the neck with a bottle severing the 2 main arteries. He lost 5 pints of blood. Despite the Royal London Hospital team's best efforts, the blood loss caused severe brain damage which, over 4 days, lead to his brain dying completely and his ventilator being turned off in the early hours of 8th April. His death is devastating. I can not - and will not - let this happen to another family. Please help me." Each month Paul Blakey, founder of Street Angels - CNI Network, writes an article for the DigiDisciple part of BigBible - a web site which aims to help people explore the Bible. Here is April's article:
Numbers – covering the 38 years in the history of Israel as they wandered the desert en route to the Promised Land. Unfaithfulness caused the long wanderings but the faithfulness and continued faithfulness of God shines through! One of my favourite passages in the Bible is found in Numbers 22 – the story of Balaam’s donkey! Listen to it here… http://www.rockymountainministries.org/free-mp3s/songdetails/balaam.html If God can use a donkey he can use me! This story shows that God is God and he can do what he wants! He is not limited by our concepts, thinking or understanding – God can and does speak to us through a wide variety of means. One of the leaders of Sanktuary in Telford (a Street Angels project) was telling me the story of one of the volunteers was on the ground taking glass out of a young ladies foot (a common problem when ladies take off the high heels!) As he pulled out the glass and was wiping the foot with an anti-sceptic wipe he sensed Jesus standing at the side of him, he turned and Jesus said, “when I told you to wash people’s feet I bloody well meant it!” As he had finished the girl gave a hearty “God bless you” to which the volunteer replied, “I think he just has!” Be it through a donkey, whilst taking glass out of a young ladies foot, through a sunrise or sunset, the budding flowers or other people – God is wanting to communicate with us because he loves us. The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert – it should have taken them 11 days! Numbers 14 tells us they grumbled and moaned about everything – nothing about the journey or what they knew of the Promised Land was good enough. Out of 1.5million that started out on the journey only 2 from the original group made it! They wandered around in circles dealing with the same issues and same problems – is that true of your life? God is communicating with you! We live in an age of communication – never before has information, thoughts and comments so readily and quickly become available. But in the midst of it all take time to listen to the voice of your Father God – a God who loves you, who doesn’t want you to set up camp in problems and issues but has a place in Promised Land just for you – right here and right now. And if you can’t hear God – maybe hang out with some donkeys! Source - Sanktuary Telford
Last night could most definitely be described as a night of two halves! From midnight until around 2am our volunteers were having lots of fun; chatting to people as they were heading in or out of the main nightclub in Wellington, giving out lollipops, helping people arrange and find taxis before the taxi marshalls arrived, and helping reunite some separated friends. But from 2am everything changed. One of our volunteers spent around fifteen minutes talking with a very upset young woman who had fallen out with her partner and was worried that he had a violent temper and she didn't know where he had gone after they argued. One of our team chatted with her, helped her to relax and then located some friends of hers inside the club who agreed to take her home. One of our volunteers intervened when a group of women began arguing loudly outside the doors of the nightclub. It turned out that the women were all friends but had fallen out over differing views of the boyfriend of one of the women. Our volunteer was able to calm the situation and the women went back into the nightclub together much happier. At around half 2 in the morning one of the rooms in the main nightclub closed and there was a sudden flood of people leaving the nightclub. The taxi marshalls were brilliant in keeping the taxi queue moving quickly but the cold wind was affecting many of the clubbers so we handed out blankets whilst people waited. This was later repeated when the nightclub closed for the night at around 4am and once again a sea of silver blankets appeared alongside the taxi rank! Shortly before 3am a young man was brought out of the nightclub by several of the clubs security officers. He was very drunk and was unable to walk, so our volunteers and some of the mans friends had to carry him over to our café at the back of the Methodist Church. He had already been very sick in the nightclub's toilets and at one point had lost his balance and hit his head on a toilet basin causing a cut to the bridge of his nose before he was carried out of the nightclub and brought over to our café. When we got him inside the café he continued to be sick but eventually fell asleep. We gave his friends some tea and coffee whilst they explained he had been with some other friends who had been drinking vodka shots. Sadly for him those friends were Polish and more accustomed to vodka than he was. When he awoke in our café we cleaned him up and arranged a taxi to take him and his friends home however unfortunately when he got up to head for the taxi he began vomiting again and there was blood in his vomit. We immediately phoned for assistance and two paramedics arrived quickly to assess him. They concluded that the blood in his vomit was digested blood most likely from a nose bleed when he had earlier hit his nose. They were happy that he didn't need to go to hospital and so for the second time we arranged a taxi for him and his two friends to go home at around half 4 this morning! Whilst all this was going on in the café our volunteers outside were kept busy helping people from the nightclub into taxis and giving flipflops to women needing to take off their high-heeled shoes after a long night of dancing. During the night all of our volunteers enjoyed great conversations with people including a group of regular clubbers who congratulated us on having completed four years of working on Wellington's streets. We also gave away over half of a huge box of lollipops last night so we are going to have to go shopping before next Saturday night! We will have another team back on Wellington's streets and in our café next Saturday night ready to offer more help to anyone in need. If you would like more information of if you are interested in maybe volunteering with us just one night per month then please get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page. You don't need any qualifications and you don't need to be a Christian - we only ask that you are a nice friendly person, that you are not judgemental of people who have been drinking or may have taken drugs, and that you can stay awake till the early hours just one night each month. Thank you very much for reading our blog - you can keep up to date with us on twitter and facebook during the week :o) Paul visited Windsor Street Angels, Slough Street Angels and Maidenhead Street Angels over the weekend. The visit was part of Paul's vision to visit every CNI Network linked project with the Big Society Award and meet up with the amazing teams of volunteers who give up Friday and Saturday nights to make the difference within local communities.
A team of three Street Angels met at Windsor Baptist Church for the Friday night patrol around the town. Paul was shown the area that is patrolled and met with door-staff, homeless people and those out clubbing. The team handed out soup and lollipops and were highly regarded by many in the town centre. The volunteers had started a Saturday night patrol the weekend before and noticed that the town is much busier on a Saturday than Friday. Paul then moved onto Slough and met with five people on patrol in the town centre. The team shared stories of how the project was impacting the town before going out on patrol. Paul again met with door-staff and those out clubbing and chatted about how the national CNI Network could best support the work locally. On Saturday Paul spent the night with Maidenhead Street Angels - meeting with volunteers and trustees at the base Paul shared the story of Street Angels - CNI Network and of the impact it is having in communities across the nation. After a Bible reading and prayers Paul joined a team on patrol in the centre again meeting with door-staff and clubbers and hearing stories of how the teams had helped people over the last 2 years. Paul comments, "It is great to see the commitment and dedication people have towards helping a community go from binge to better within the night-time economy. It was great to meet the amazing volunteers in Windsor, Slough and Maidenhead and see first hand the passion they have for making Street Angels happen week in and week out." A message from Redeeming Our Communities...
Dear Friends, We're pleased to announce that after popular demand Debra & Frank Green's book City Changing Prayer has been reprinted. Purchase a copy from our online store Or phone the office 0161 946 2310 ROC Team. Steve and Hazel Brock (Stockton Town Pastors / SA-CNI Trustee) along with Paul and Jean Blakey (founders SA-CNI Network) joined over one hundred others from across the UK for the 130th celebration weekend of the Christian Police Association.
The weekend, at Stockton Baptist Tabernacle, included Sir Peter Vardy speaking about Safe Families for Children, Sue Sinclair speaking about Community Watchman Ministries and Robin Oakes QPM MBE speaking on forgiveness. The work of Street Angels - CNI Network was highlighted in a talk from Paul Blakey and led to discussions with people from across the country who want to see a Street Angels initiative taking place locally. There was opportunity for people to join Steve and Paul on patrol with the Stockton Town Pastors and people who took up this offer represented City of London, Dublin and Northern Ireland Police forces. It was great to be able to join and celebrate with the Christian Police Association and to be able to sponsor financially and practically the conference packs. More information - www.CPAuk.net |
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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 |