In Southampton, our 146 volunteers are committed to the following initiatives:

• Night-time Patrols
  We send out patrols into the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights from about 10:30pm – 4 am.
• Evening Community Patrol (Portswood)
  We send out patrols into the Portswood area on a Saturday evening.
• Community Patrols (Schools)
  We patrol in the communities surrounding Cantell School and Upper Shirley High School on a Wednesday afternoon while children are vacating school.
• Afternoon Patrols (City Centre)
  Happening on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. These patrols centre upon the welfare needs of the homeless, a particularly vulnerable group.
• We are also trialling Community patrols in the Thornhill area.

In whatever context, street pastors offer reassurance, safety and support through listening, caring and helping. We are a tool for local churches to help project God’s love into the city, and we also work closely together with other partners to make Southampton a safer place. In Southampton Street Pastors. we are committed to targeted prayer. Our simple philosophy is that we do not deploy Street Pastors, in any capacity, unless they are backed up by dedicated prayer from our Prayer Pastors who are contactable in real time. We have been in existence since March 2009. In that time, Southampton Street Pastors has provided 60,000 hours of volunteering. We look after many hundreds of very vulnerable people and, as a visible representation of the Church, we are also asked about our faith and to pray for people.

Our Community patrols are very well received by the local residents and our partners. The patrols are usually deployed between 6:15 pm to 10 pm. Please checkout our promotional 4minute long video which gives you a flavour of our work. We carry a variety of equipment to assist people who maybe feeling vulnerable, don’t want to be on their own, in need of first aid, a mobile phone charge, lost, ensure how to get home, struggling to keep warm, or maybe you just need a listening ear from someone who is not going to judge you. We have many opportunities to share God’s love in both practical ways and also spiritually by way of praying with people, provision of Bibles and affirm individuals with God’s Word.
We would also like to thank Southampton Quaker’s who allow us to use their Friends Meeting House as our Safe Space.

“Street Pastors is about Christians rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in practically responding to the problems of crime and safety. They are like beacons on our streets and I want to see them shining brightly in every constituency.”

David Burrowes MP, Patron of Street Pastors