HOME SAFE AND SOUND

Saturday night and the Ealing Street Pastor team were out in the bitter cold.

A homeless man was begging who knew St Mungo’s, Acton.. We emailed St Mungo’s on the chance they might be fetching people into the shelter under the sever weather emergency protocol.  There are some we meet though who simply prefer the street whatever the weather.

A man was bleeding profusely with a cut nose, but was with two friends.  We managed to patch him up as we have a serviceable first aid kit on us as we patrol.

By 2am in the morning it was snowing quite heavily. We returned to base and locked up. It was as we left that we met a young man drunk, sitting on a wall in his shirt-sleeves, desperately trying to call a friend to help him. He was really incapable of doing anything much and was definitely in trouble. While two of the team stayed with him, the rest went back into the base to get him a much needed space blanket. Little enough, but something.

He said he wanted to get a cab, so we then took him to a taxi rank. He had no card and no cash. In the end we asked the Taxi driver to take him to the address he finally managed to give us.  Fortunately the taxi drivers now know us and try and give us a good price. Clearly the driver was used to taking drunks home. We paid the fare and were relieved to see him safe. We put a Street Pastor card in his bag knowing he wouldn’t remember much the following day.

Finally we could now go home ourselves hugely grateful to have been of use and to have had the opportunity to care for people in need in our community.