Thirteen street pastor groups across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire have been granted a share of a £46,000 donation.
The cash was handed out earlier this month by the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber, through the PCC Community Fund.
Street pastors patrol the city or town centres of their communities on busy nights, supporting vulnerable club and pub goers on a night out. The funding was distributed across three tiers, depending on the size of the town patrolled.
Jeanette Lock, Chairman of the Maidenhead Street Angels trustees, said: “We are extremely grateful for the generous grant which we will use to help us recruit and train new Street Angel volunteers. The town of Maidenhead is changing with many new developments within the town centre. This will inevitably increase the activity of the town's nighttime economy. Our aim is to have enough volunteers to stay out on patrol for longer hours and to possibly establish a safe space where vulnerable people can be taken.”
The street pastors’ work is underpinned by a desire to share God’s love with those they encounter by showing the Christ-like qualities of care and compassion through practical support. This can include things like handing out flip flops for sore feet, providing water, a mobile phone charger, basic first aid, and the ever-popular lollipops. Support extends to those working in the night-time economy like door staff, or taxi drivers as well as the homeless community.
Nigel Watt, coordinator of Wantage and Grove Street Pastors, said: “Our biggest spend is salaries so some of the funds will go to pay for our coordinator and social media manager. We’ll also spend some on flip flops and conflict resolution training for our volunteers which helps keep them safe and others safe on the streets.”
Andrew Henderson, Chair of Trustees at Aylesbury Street Pastors, said: “Firstly, thank you! Receiving this grant is invaluable to us as we continue to serve the people of Aylesbury. It will enable us to grow through adding new volunteer Chaplains and Street Angels which will improve our reach and service. These people are our greatest resource, thank you again for your support.”
The groups which received a grant are:
• Wallingford
• Wantage and Grove
• Witney
• Windsor
• Abingdon
• Newbury
• Banbury
• Aylesbury
• Maidenhead
• High Wycombe
• Oxford
• Reading
• Milton Keynes