During November there were:

  • 2 Friday night patrols and 2 Saturday night patrols
  • 4 Patrols totalling 20 hours of cover involving 12 Street Pastors
  • 2 pairs of flip-flops given and 9 bottles of water
  • 230 lollies and Love Hearts given

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

  • Spent time with groups of young people in Grove
  • Prevented an aggressive situation between two men from escalating
  • Gave water to a group of young people, one of whom was rather drunk
  • Helped a vulnerable lady who had been found lying in the street

At the beginning of November, in the run up to Firework night, we met different groups of young people in Grove. At the Skate Park we spent some time with a small group, gave lollies and cleared up litter. In Millbrook Square a young couple were sat together but the girl had obviously had quite a bit to drink. We checked that they were ok, gave them our number and came back to see them a little while later, but they had moved on by then.

In Wantage town centre we met two men who were becoming aggressive towards each other. We were able to gently intervene and mentioned to one, who was visiting Wantage, that there was CCTV in the town centre. This was enough to prevent things escalating.

A young man told us that he had found a lady lying in the middle of the road and had picked her up and moved her to some steps. We went immediately and found the lady, who had had too much to drink. She was quite vulnerable but said that she had a room booked at The Bear Hotel. We escorted her to the hotel and with the help of hotel staff took her to her room.

Late one night we saw a group of young people with a drunk friend. They asked us for water, which we provided. One of the lads said that he wants to be a Street Pastor.

Thank you for supporting the work of Wantage & Grove Street Pastors throughout 2019, whether through prayer, volunteering, grants and donations or just being interested in what we do – thank you!

Best wishes for 2020 from all of us at Wantage & Grove Street Pastors.