Our work started immediately, with some broken glass in the driveway.
As we neared the bottom of Park Street, there was a call for our assistance from the Street Marshalls, who had come across a woman lying face down on the pavement.
Passers-by had seen her fall after bending down to pick something up.
Sarah and Graham took the lead in assessing her needs – she was responding and not in serious pain but seemed in no hurry to move from her prone position.
There was then another call on the radio, requesting assistance at the V shed as there was concern that a woman was suicidal.
We agreed with the Marshalls that we’d stay with our current charge and they would respond to the new call.
After a while, our charge had regained her feet, and we understood her situation – she’d been out celebrating her boyfriend’s birthday, but somehow became separated from him, from her phone, and from any means of payment. She tried remembering her boyfriend’s number, but when we tried, the number was unobtainable. Cushioned by alcohol, she seemed quite calm about her situation, apart from an urgent need to the loo. We walked her across to the Marriott, who very kindly allowed us in, and Sarah and Nathalie escorted her to the facilities. Outside the Marriott, we tried calling her phone (a number she could remember), but no-one picked up. She then had another go at remembering the boyfriend’s number, and this time it worked! He was back at home, so we waited with her whilst he made his way back into town.
Whilst we were waiting with our charge, there was another request for our services on the radio from BSB – a girl had cut her foot on some broken glass. I explained that we weren’t available to come at the moment. Fortunately, the CCTV control centre chipped in, and recommended that they call an ambulance.
Also, whilst we were waiting with our lady, we chatted to various groups of people outside the Marriott. Mark had a particularly meaningful conversation with a young lady who said she wanted to find her way back to God despite the mocking of her friends.
Whilst we were waiting with our charge, there was another request for our services on the radio from BSB – a girl had cut her foot on some broken glass. I explained that we weren’t available to come at the moment. Fortunately, the CCTV control centre chipped in, and recommended that they call an ambulance.
Also, whilst we were waiting with our lady, we chatted to various groups of people outside the Marriott. Mark had a particularly meaningful conversation with a young lady who said she wanted to find her way back to God despite the mocking of her friends.
By the time we got round to BSB, we were told that the girl had already been taken to hospital.
There was also a young man on the pavement outside BSB, but he was already being cared for by members of staff and friends.
As we headed back towards base for our break, it seemed that the number of bottles had significantly increased.
The second half was a bit less eventful, we had quite a few good conversations with door staff, ambulance staff, homeless and regular punters, variously handing out Billy Chips, water, flipflops and lollipops.
As we came to the end, we had an unusual spate of negative interactions, being sworn at or insulted by three separate people. I’m sure they all have their reasons for being angry, but it did slightly take the edge off an otherwise very positive night.
Thanks to the team – and especially to Terry and Trevor whose prayers buoyed us up throughout the night.
Oh and one last thing – Nathalie (our observer for the evening) overcame her concerns about being able to stay awake during the night, and enjoyed the experience so much she’s applying to join us as a Street Pastor!
People helped- 14
Water bottles- 5;
Flipflops- 4;
Space Blankets – 1;
Lollies 12;
Bottles binned – 142;
Broken glass swept up- 9
Billy Chips given out- 17