October was our first month back out on patrol in Leicester city centre. Due to a COVID outbreak we managed to have volunteers out 2 Saturdays. We offered 24 volunteer hours on the street of Leicester which is the beginning. We are hoping to build slowly towards 2022 and hope that new volunteers will step forward.
It is a well researched fact that Street Pastors bring peace to the streets and make the places they patrol safer. Over the 2 Saturdays we were out we picked up over 35 glass bottles which could have been used in fights or conflict. Not only that, we spoke to over 40 people having conversations about their lives and experiences and hearing their stories. This opportunity to offer a listening ear in this busy, social media obsessed culture will live in is rare and unique. You cannot know the impact of just being a listening ear.
It may have been a tentative start but we are full of hope and conviction that being on the streets of leicester on a Saturday night is a vital mission.