Select a region
How best to calm down an aggressive weekend reveller? Give them a lollipop, of course!
That's the finding of Street Pastors Jersey, who are celebrating ten years of providing "reassurance, safety and support" on the streets of St. Helier.
Clad in blue jackets, the volunteer troop takes to town every Saturday night from 23:00 to 03:00, armed with bottles of water, flip-flops and lollipops - of which they've handed out thousands over the years.
It all started when Vini Jones phoned the Street Pastors (Ascension Trust) in London and began the process of bringing Street Pastors to Jersey. 18 months of countless meetings later, aided with “prayerful determination” and a hard-working Management Committee, Street Pastors Jersey was born.
Pictured: Mr Jones and his original bag.
Mr Jones led the first ever patrol on 28 November 2009 and went on to fill the role of Coordinator for the first three years. He patrolled with the team right up to November 2019, completing 154 rounds.
Training started in September 2009 with just eight wannabe Street Pastors, who were officially commissioned just two months later by Reverend Les Isaac, who came over to Jersey especially for Street Pastors Jersey's official launch.
Since then, the operation has grown to 26 pastors, who have undertaken over 8,000 hours of voluntary work, talking to nearly 37,000 people in the process.
Pictured: Some of the pastors with Reverend Les Isaac.
In the past decade, they have become a well-known fixture of the island's weekend scene, supporting those in need of help after a night out, whether it's providing first aid or handing out hydrating bottles of water, comfortable footwear in the form of flip-flops or warm clothing including gloves and thermal coats.
One of the things they've become best known for, however, is for lollipops.
Over the past decade, they have handed out nearly 9,000 of the sweet, which, despite its humble appearance, the team say is a "superb antidote to an aggressive person”.
Pictured: Members of the team in their iconic blue t-shirts and caps.
A member of the team explained: “You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it, but you go up to a couple of people who are squaring up and ask, ‘Is everything ok?’ and, ‘Would you like a lolly?’ They are like, ‘Aww, a lolly, that’s fabulous!’
"By the time they’ve struggled to get the wrapper off, they’ve forgotten what they were arguing about!”
The Street Pastors also removed over 19,000 glass pieces from the streets, dealt with over a thousand drunk people and just as many visitors, as well as 1,032 underage partygoers.
Pictured: The usual route followed by the pastors.
The team says the need for their support does not seem to be diminishing.
With their anniversary approaching, they have called upon islanders’ generosity to not only fund their work, but also the salary of the part-time coordinator who is responsible for the day-to-day administration of SPJ, recruiting and training Street Pastors, arranging rotas and for maintaining relationships with Police, the Parish of St. Helier and the island's churches.
They are also keen to recruit and train new Street and Prayer Pastors to continue their patrols.
Pictured: In 10 years, the Street pastors have given away 3,000 flip flops.
“Jersey was the 100th initiative when we started in 2009,” Donna Vibert, the current Coordinator who took up the post in 2017, said.
“The charity's work continues to be crucial and we look forward to another ten years of showing God’s love on the streets of St. Helier by listening, caring and helping without judgement.”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.