During October there were:

• 3 Friday night patrols and 3 Saturday night patrols
• 6 Patrols totalling 30 hours of cover involving 18 Street Pastors
• 6 pairs of flip-flops given and 10 bottles of water
• 200 lollies and Love Hearts

Here are some of the ways Street Pastors cared, listened and helped in October:

• Assisted a lady that appeared very drunk
• Spent time with some young people in Grove
• Minor first aid to a cut finger

We spent a long time looking after a lady that appeared to be very drunk, unable to stand and not particularly capable of communicating. Apparently, the lady had been left alone by her friends and was being cared for by door staff and members of the public. Suspecting that it wasn’t just alcohol involved, door staff called for emergency services. Two police officers arrived and, at their request, we tried to find someone that knew the lady so that we could call a family member. A short time later, the ambulance arrived and took care of the lady.

Halloween was a high-spirited but good-natured evening in Wantage that passed without incident. We cleared lots of bottles from the town centre and some broken glass. Quite a few people said how grateful they were for the work that we do.

Other teams chatted to different people who told us about, among other things, their desire to give up drug use; their family and birth of a daughter; and one young lady thanked our team for saving her life. The Street Pastors were slightly taken-aback at this but were pleased to hear how one of our other teams had worked alongside others to care for this young lady earlier in the year and that her life had been saved as a result.

During October we celebrated our 9th anniversary of patrolling in Wantage and Grove. In that time we have met and helped thousands of people in so many ways – from giving bottles of water, flip-flops and lollipops to waiting with people at the bus stop, searching for lost wallets, phones and friends to listening to their problems and praying for those whose needs go beyond our ability to help. Thank you for your ongoing support.