Salisbury's Street Pastors get lifeline grant
The service has been given support to keep them going into 2021
The Salisbury Street Pastors have received £9,000 from the Wiltshire Community Foundation's Covid-19 Response Fund towards continuing the service.
The service normally gets support from 26 churches around the city, but they've been left with gaps in their finances.
Co-ordinator of Salisbury Street Pastors, Brian Percey explains:
"The majority of (churches) are out on YouTube or Zooming services, so they're not getting any money in through collections. The other thing that's devastating churches is income from rental - I know of one church in town that's lost £28,000 last year - so consequently, they don't have the money to be able to contribute on to us."
The funding will see the group through until lockdown's over and they can start getting their normal funding streams back.
Brian Percey says it's vital for them:
"This grant will allow us to go into 2021 at the same place that we went into 2020, where we can operate, we can work, we can put patrols out, they can pay me as a co-ordinator. The £9,000 has really given us hope that we can carry on."
The Street Pastors would ordinarily patrol the city centre at weekends to support people that need help during nights out - whether that's emotional help and a listening ear, or practical help like getting into a taxi, a bottle of water or a pair of flip flops to ease aching feet.
A similar scheme in Chippenham hasn't been so lucky, having to close down due to a lack of money to support them into the future.
Wiltshire Community Foundation joint chief executive Fiona Oliver said:
"We are delighted to support this amazing group because of the enormous contribution they make to the city and its community. There are countless examples of how they have made a huge difference to people and could very well have saved them from serious harm.
"Our fund is there to help groups who are the bedrock of our communities tackle immediate need and find their way out of this crisis."
Salisbury Street Pastors have scaled back their patrols due to the current lockdown and hospitality businesses being closed.
But they're still keeping the volunteers' training up to date and encouraging more members to join their ranks.
Co-ordinator Brian Percey says they'll be raring to get going again:
"We're so grateful that we can enter 2021 hopeful that once the vaccine is out there - and the majority of my Street Pastors will get vaccinated early, probably all before Easter (due to age and vulnerability) then we will be fully functioning and ready to go once the hospitality venues are all open."