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56<br />
Faith on the <strong>St</strong>reets<br />
By Nicola Gray<br />
When people say, ‘charity begins<br />
at home’ they often mean that<br />
you should look after your<br />
own circle first and then<br />
extend your kindness<br />
to people in the<br />
wider community.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Helens</strong> <strong>St</strong>reet<br />
Pastors work on a<br />
much larger scale<br />
though; their mission<br />
is to rescue vulnerable<br />
people on the streets of <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Helens</strong> and make their whole<br />
community safer.<br />
I caught up with co-ordinator Hayley Harrison to find<br />
out more about this group of good Samaritans and how<br />
they are helping to make <strong>St</strong> <strong>Helens</strong> a safer place. Hayley<br />
told me, “<strong>St</strong>reet Pastors is basically the Church in action<br />
on the street, responding to a crisis. It is about volunteers<br />
rolling up their sleeves and practically responding to the<br />
problems of crime and safety in their area.”<br />
The group’s role is to provide a<br />
calming presence, a listening<br />
ear and practical help to<br />
vulnerable people in the<br />
night-time economy of<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Helens</strong>, showing<br />
God’s love to anyone<br />
and everyone they<br />
meet. Being a street<br />
pastor can look like so<br />
many things, but what<br />
does this help look like in<br />
a practical sense?<br />
Hayley added, “We often<br />
find ourselves being a listening ear for<br />
someone who in that moment really needs it; or just<br />
providing some practical help by giving out water, flip<br />
flops and space blankets to help keep people warm.<br />
“We are often able to signpost people to services that can<br />
really help them; and other times we are just making sure<br />
that people get home safely. Ultimately it is a tool that we<br />
use to be the hands and feet of Jesus; to show kindness<br />
and compassion and the love of God to those around us.”<br />
The <strong>St</strong> <strong>Helens</strong> faction is a growing team of volunteers from<br />
local churches, the group currently stands at 10 active<br />
members and is growing<br />
all the time. Helen added,<br />
“Our first team undertook<br />
their first patrol on 23rd<br />
<strong>Dec</strong>ember 2016 and here<br />
we are almost five years<br />
later, with 3 teams and<br />
looking to expand even<br />
further to reach more<br />
people in a vulnerable<br />
position.<br />
Up until last year the team<br />
had been patrolling the<br />
town centre streets from
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