This is an overview of what our Stratford-on-Avon Street Pastors have been experiencing over the last few months when out on patrol.  The snippets in blue are quotes from the reports.

Although “The streets were quiet and whilst there were some customers in the eating houses it was not busy” the teams have had some great meetings with people. One of the highlights must have been meeting the person “who insisted on singing us “Stand by Me” by Ben E King. They actually had a great voice and sang it very well” and also the musician “who played the guitar and invited us to listen to one of his own compositions”. What talented people one can meet in the streets of Stratford -on-Avon on a Friday night!

The teams had many conversations:
“…teenagers who were sat on a seat in the middle of the Gardens. They were looking forward to starting their A level year…“
“…strong views regarding the vaccinations… long term problems…not worth the risk…”
“…worked at PCR testing centre…being extremely busy”
“…was the first time that he had talked about his troubles and seemed to want to talk about them”.
This is one of the great services that the team offer, to be a listening ear, not offering solutions or future paths to follow but being present and simply listening to someone’s story.

The teams spent time with the vulnerable on our streets, again listening well when they want to chat:
“…had been given a place at the new Fred Winter Centre and was very pleased…”
“…keeping out of the way of others and was able to manage at the present time…”
“…after lock-down lost their flat…”
“ …split up after a long relationship….felt embarrassed to be on the streets…”
and offered help when they could:
“…only just arrived in the town and asked about the procedure for getting help. We gave the Council’s housing support telephone numbers…”
“We gave them a scarf and a hat for which they were grateful”
“We gave them a contact number to get help, a blanket and wished them well”
“…grateful for the clothes and shoes that a team had taken them a few weeks before. They had only eaten a sandwich, so we got some hot food…”
“…we told them about P3…”
“gratefully accepted some water from us but didn’t need anything else”

The teams were also there for those who were having a night out in our lovely town:
“…been out drinking and said they were headed onward for some further drinks. We gave the friend a bottle of water as they needed it…”
“spotted a young person struggling to walk…in the middle of the road trying to wave down any passing car. We approached and offered to help get a taxi. We waited to check that all was well…they wandered to the cashpoint, but was unable to get any cash. …we suggested trying to get an Uber as they take online payment…so we waited until it arrived and they left with the taxi…”
“…had a mobile but had no power so we let them use our battery pack to enable a phone call…”
“…approached us and asked us to look after someone who was quite drunk and needed a taxi…we guided them across to the taxi rank in Bridge Street …they asked us to pray for them which we did and made sure they got inside a taxi and had money for fare home. They were very grateful.”

A lovely thing that happens is when people tell the teams about the positives they bring about:
“…young proprietors… were extremely supportive of what we do and said that we would be welcome to call in at any time.”
“…youths walking past recognised us and asked us for some lollipops and thanked us for being out.”
“…young students enjoying some time together. They were curious as to what we did and were very pleased to know the town had Street Pastors around in the evening.”
“…saying that they thought that the public’s trust in the Police had been diminished following the Sarah Everard case, and that Street Pastors are as important as they had ever been.”
“…spotted us and thought we were Street Angels but one said we were indeed angels and did an amazing job and wanted to hug us.”
“…a fervent Catholic and would pray for us at Mass on Sunday.”
“…were full of praise for what we do, one of them expressing concern over the young girls around and were impressed with how we said we would wait and ensure they got taxis or lifts home if on their own.”

If reading this has inspired you to join us in being the hands and feet of Christ in Stratford-on-Avon, why not pray about it and contact Linda on 07523 363464 or email at stratforduponavon@streetpastors.org for more information.