The first ever ‘Street Pastors’’ in Blaenau Gwent has began helping late-night revellers on the streets of Ebbw Vale and Abertillery this week.
Police hope the street pastors will make Blaenau Gwent a safer place at night by helping people under the influence of alcohol before they can cause trouble or hurt themselves.
The innovative project, which also has the support of Blaenau Gwent Council and local churches, has already been hailed a success in more than 60 other towns and cities in the UK.
16 Ebbw Vale and 10 Abertillery church members in Blaenau Gwent have completed a comprehensive training programme to fully equip them to respond to the needs of people they speak to on the streets. Volunteers from both Ebbw Vale and Abertillery launched the initiatives with their own individual commissioning services.
Local church members who volunteer as Street Pastors will be helping the emergency services in Blaenau Gwent every weekend around the times of 10pm and 1.30am on Friday and Saturday nights. The teams, usually made up of four people each night, can be clearly identified by the high-visibility jackets they wear.
The Street Pastor Scheme was initiated in Jamaica in 2001 as a Christian response to violent crime. Brixton realised the benefits of this initiative and launched the first UK scheme in 2003 to combat the urban problems encountered in towns and city throughout the country.
Coordinator for the Street Pastors venture for Abertillery, Marie Moreton who has taken up the role voluntarily says: ‘I really hope we can show the community that there are people who really care. We hope they feel free to approach us and have a chat – we won’t bite!’
Superintendent Mark Warrender of Gwent Police said: ‘I am delighted to see Street Pastors arrive in Blaenau Gwent. This is a fantastic initiative which compliments the work the police, local authority and other partners deliver to improve the safety of our communities in our busy night time economies.’
‘This scheme has helped deliver significant improvements to the safety and well being of communities and individuals in the areas across the UK where Street Pastors operate and I wish them every success in Ebbw vale and Abertillery.’
More information on Street Pastors is available online at www.streetpastors.co.uk
