Street pastors celebrate 15th anniversary

A street pastor group in Shropshire is celebrating its 15th anniversary, helping people on a night out in the county.

Named Telford Street Pastors, the organisation was set up in 2011 to support people on a night out alongside defusing violent and anti-social incidents.

Volunteer Vicky Brain said that helping people on a night out felt "really worthwhile" and meant you "went home with a buzz" as you've made a difference to people's evenings.

"It's all about caring, it's not about preaching, it's not about talking about our faith unless people want us too," she said.

She said the role of a street pastor had changed over the years as less people went out clubbing, with shift times finishing earlier than they once did.

"People are not going out binge-drinking like they used to, they're not going out to the night clubs, we are doing our patrols earlier than usual," she said.

Brain said when she started as a street pastor, her daughter was going out clubbing in Bristol and she thought: "I can't help her when she's out in Bristol but I can probably help somebody else's daughter if they get into trouble."

The group consists of volunteers from local churches who work until about 02:30 on the weekend, mainly in Telford and Wellington.

Asha Alex said that people on a night out opened up to the pastors, who aimed to show them "compassion" and listen to them without judgement.

She said that the group aimed to provide party-goers with someone to talk to along with liquids like water if they had had too much to drink.

"We are able to provide people with a place for them to calm down, just get their breath, sit down and sort themselves out," she said.

Alex added that with the hot weather and excitement of the World Cup, people were forgetting to keep themselves hydrated in the heat.

"We are going out with lots of bottles of water, lollipops too and then get them drinking more water," she said.

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