Jesmond Street Pastors Newcastle upon Tyne
Annual Trustees Report 2023
2023 was the seventh year of operation of Jesmond Street Pastors since its incorporation in August 2016. As with other charities and organisations, operational activities were back to normal after the restrictions brought about by the Covid pandemic were lifted.
Jesmond
Jesmond is an affluent residential suburb and is split into two electoral wards just north of the centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne. The population is about 12,000. The area consists of a mixture of residential homes, in mostly Edwardian and Victorian terraces. There is a large student population mainly accommodated in multiple occupancy houses. There are many cafes and restaurants, boutiques and small supermarkets centring along St Georges Terrace, Acorn Road, and Osborne Road. Jesmond Street Pastors patrol the section of Osborne Road where the nightlife is based around several chic cocktail bars. Our base of operations is Jesmond Methodist Church, located on St Georges Terrace.
Street Pastors
The Street Pastors initiative was pioneered in London in 2003 by Ascension Trust (https://www.ascensiontrust.org.uk/). A street pastor is a trained volunteer who is a Christian and is part of a local church, and who is concerned for society and their local community. They patrol in teams of men and women, often on a Friday and/or Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets. They are willing to engage with people, whatever their perspective on life and wherever they hang out, working in collaboration with other agencies and projects. See https://www.streetpastors.org/ for more information about Street Pastors.
Each local Street Pastor project is approved and set up by the Ascension Trust, which is the governing body behind Street Pastors, and run by a local coordinator with support from local churches and community groups, in partnership with the police, local council and other statutory agencies.
Currently, over 220 towns and cities around the UK have a Street Pastors team. In addition to Street Pastors, there may be prayer pastors, who support the local team with prayer throughout the patrol period. Each
1
team will have a management committee, and trustees elected from local churches.
Since 2014, some Street Pastors have received additional training as Response Pastors, who provide support to those affected by a disaster or crisis. Response pastors can be called upon any day or night to support and assist where appropriate. A response pastor is a crucial point of contact and an additional support to the established emergency services. See https://www.streetpastors.org/about-us/response-pastors/.
Jesmond Street Pastors Operational Aspects
2023 was a challenging year for the team due to sickness within the team. This meant that patrols from July went down to one patrol a month.
The Summer period was quieter as the students were not in residence and in September, when they arrived, they didn’t seem to appear in such numbers as in previous years.
Licensing hours have been maintained and all licensed premises are the same as previous years with one or more retail food outlets having changed.
The Safer Transport and Women’s Safety in Vulnerable Places projects came to an end in September. We received a letter from the Police and Crime Commissioner thanking us for our valuable contribution to the success of the projects.
We started the year with seven Street Pastors and ended the year with six. However, two new Street Pastors are in training and will start patrols in 2024.
Our Coordinator keeps in touch with local councillors and the Keep Jesmond Clean team, looking at ways to reduce the volumes of glass on the streets and how the street pastors can contribute to public safety on the streets of Jesmond.
Even though we are a very small team in Jesmond, there is evidence to show that we are making an impact.
Management Committee
The Management Committee met three times in 2023. Where necessary, members have been kept up to date via email.
Their role is to ensure that the project continues to operate smoothly. They have checked that the project conforms to the General Data Protection Regulations. In addition, they monitor income and expenditure and plan ways to raise funds. They also check that the project conforms to Charity Commission regulations and follows Ascension Trust guidelines.
2
Trustees and Management Committee
There was one change of Trustee during 2023. Rev’d Canon Brian Hurst of St George’s Jesmond resigned due to a change of appointment. We place on record our sincere thanks to him for his season with JSP. To date we have not yet replaced him on the Committee.
The list of Trustees is as follows.
Chair and Coordinator : Mr Chris Lincoln, Methodist Church. Secretary : Mrs Margaret Graham, Jesmond Methodist Church. Treasurer : Mrs Janet Anderson, Jesmond Methodist Church. Committee members :
Dr Laura Graham, Methodist Church. Mrs Jean Degenhardt, Jesmond United Reformed Church. Mr John Waddell, Church of the Holy Name, Jesmond. Rev Alison Wilkinson, Jesmond Methodist Church.
We thank our officers and Trustees for their support and prayers during 2023.
It is hoped through time that there will be a representative from all Jesmond Churches on the Management Committee.
Mr Chris Lincoln, as Chair of Trustees, spends much of his time liaising with the police and local councillors as well as speaking to the Churches in Jesmond to encourage more volunteers to come forward as Street Pastors or Prayer Pastors.
Financial Report
Jesmond Street Pastors is a small project and for its finances relies very much on donations from the local churches, the community and the general public.
We received some general funding from Northumbria Police (£100) to support our work in the community of Jesmond. As lead team we received and distributed funding for the other Street Pastor teams – Jesmond, Newcastle, Whitley Bay, and Sunderland - and Street Angels who operate in South Shields, as indicated in our accounts.
Expenditure includes essential items such as a mobile phone, first aid material, and insurance for the street pastors. The License fee to Ascension Trust is obligatory.
Our audited accounts are available separately. We are grateful to our Auditor, Mr David Stabler, for his help and advice.
Summary of our accounts for 2023:
3
| INCOME | EXPENDITURE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northumbria Police | £1,708.00 | Mobile phone | £205.62 | |
| Donation | £100.00 | Insurance | £221.52 | |
| Ascension Trust License fee | £600.00 | |||
| Supplies | £9.45 | |||
| Jesmond Methodist | £1,000.00 | |||
| Church | ||||
| Street Angels – South | £100.00 | |||
| Shields | ||||
| Whitley Bay Street Pastors | £780.97 | |||
| Newcastle Street Pastors | £100.00 | |||
| Sunderland Street Pastors | £627.03 | |||
| Total Income: | £1,808.00 | Total Expenditure: | £3,644.59 |
| BALANCE SHEET | |
|---|---|
| Balance at 01/01/2023 | £7,576.50 |
| Income | £1,808.00 |
| Total Income | £9,384.50 |
| Less Expenditure | £3,644.59 |
| Closing Balance at 31/12/2023 | £5,739.91 |
In conclusion, we pray that Jesmond Street Pastors will continue to support the night-time economy in Jesmond, and care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.
Margaret E Graham
Secretary, Jesmond Street Pastors. September 2024
4
Jesmond Str••t Pastorn 1st January 2023 - 31st DOCnber 2023 INCOME EXPENDITURE BALANCE SHEEr 31103r2023 Northumbria Police £200. Balance at 01rt)1r2023 £19.18 £7.578.50 2&10ir2023 02 £11XI.IJI 2210W2023 Keith Gilfilkn SupF 22102r2023 02 £1,208.(Ki 22103r2023 02 14108r2023 St G•orgu Parish Churth £1,808.(X) £15.28 £15.28 £2Crf).IX) £17.32 La•8 Expwthur• £iCM). 09110r2023 Northumbria Polico 204r2023 02 24104r2023 Whrt B•y SP 24104r2023 N*Ara8tle SP 22105r2023 02 2410W2023 J•8inond Kl0th0 Chuf 08106r2023 Sundortand SP OW(2023 Styjth Sh 22106r2023 02 17K17r2023 ASCensw Tnmt LK•rn• F 17107r2023 Acce88 Insurance 22107r2023 02 2&W2023 02 2mr2023 02 10110r2024 SundorIv SP 10110r2024 WIMW Bay SP 23110r2023 02 2S111r2021 02 22112r202 02 £3,844.59 £17.32 CIo8iw Balanco 31112r2023 £6,739.91 £1C(I.IJ) £100. £17.32 £2. £221.52 £17.32 £17.32 £17.32 £527.03 £680.97 £17.32 £17.32 £17.32 £1.808.00 £3.644.59 IA nl ¢ 3 +-h].