A Typical Night - Continued

I really enjoy it and I feel it is a worthwhile thing to do and it shows Christian love out on the streets and that we care for people. Many of the young people can’t believe we are volunteers and often stop to chat and we are even at times asked for hugs, especially one night when a young man had asked his girlfriend to marry him and she said yes, we all celebrated together.

Street Angels seem to be a calming influence. Crime has fallen steeply in the areas where we operate. Our presence can free police to catch criminals rather than deal with those who are drunk & vulnerable.

And there’s another factor: no one really wants to fight when people who would usually be in bed by now – some of them pensioners, a unisex Dad’s Army – are traipsing the streets to make sure you’re all right?

At one of our training sessions we were told little old ladies do very well as street angels. Young men like to talk to their grannies.
If there is trouble, the street angels do not intervene. The team leader wears a headset linked to the CCTV control centre to report anything they think the police might be interested in.
It’s also a safeguard for themselves, although there is no record of a street angel ever being attacked.

I have personally never felt in danger although it can involve dealing with the raw side of life! All in all it feels like a mad but worthwhile thing to do!