Monthly Report – June & July 2025

In June one of our teams heard glass breaking on the street and found two large bottles
on the road. Our team didn’t see where they came from but spent 15 minutes clearing up
the debris. Another night we cleared up glass near Betjeman Park and warned a dog-
walker about it as they approached us.
Several of our teams met a homeless man and his friend who was helping him. There is
no provision for homeless people in Wantage and a place in Oxford suddenly became
unavailable to him. We have some basic supplies for homeless people and were able to
provide him with water, hot drinks and some food on several occasions. The man was able
to stay with his friend on one occasion. We heard recently that he now has somewhere to
live.
At midnight one night two young women asked our Street Pastors to walk a short distance
home with them. We are always happy to provide that reassurance to those who need it.
On Saturday 21 June we put a gazebo up in the west end of the Market Place and handed
out hot pasties to anyone who wanted one (we are affectionately known as Street Pasties
by some people). We had first done this in celebration of our 15th anniversary in October
2024. It was so well received and such a good night that we wanted to do it again. Street
Pastors from across our teams were joined by some of our Prayer volunteers and Trustees
as we handed out 60 delicious pasties kindly donated by Sainsbury’s.
Our afternoon team patrolled on 18 July – last day of term – to support young people
making their way home as they start their school summer holidays.
Unusually, we gave a pair of flip-flops to a man whose wife had bought him a new pair of
trainers that were absolutely killing him!