Objectives and activities
The objects of the charitable incorporated organisation are for public benefit, in the geographic area of Bury and beyond as the trustees may from time to time determine in accordance with charity law in England and Wales, as follows:
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to advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Street Pastor License agreement with the "Ascension Trust" through:
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i. the provision of public pastoral care services to help people on the streets and other public places, giving guidance, support and signposting which assist in preserving public order, avoiding anti-social behaviour, relieving sickness and preserve health and by:
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ii. enlightening others about Christianity through raising awareness and understanding of ecclesiastical relevance to community and public life, mobilizing the church ecumenically to unity of worship and to advance the Christian faith by carrying out the mission and outreach work of the gospel for the benefit of the public.
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to develop the capacity and skills of socially disadvantaged groups in our community in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society; in particular but not exclusively through raising awareness, promoting, sustaining and increasing individual and collective knowledge, skills and expertise, through the practical development of individual capabilities, competences, skills and understanding through formal training, informal talks and capacity building in voluntary services, according to Christian principles and the Street Pastor “Urban Trinity” principle of church, police and local government working together for the benefit of the community.
Summary of the main activities
As a Christian charity working under the auspices of the Street Pastor License Agreement of the Ascension Trust, our aims are to advance the Christian faith and promote community capacity building for the benefit of the public.
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Advancement of religion
As a Christian organisation we work through the collective effort of local churches whose members volunteer to be Street Pastors, and receive specialised training with us. This enables them to develop their own individual capacity as 'salt and light' in the community whilst actively engaging in providing essential voluntary services in public care and for public benefit. We work in partnership with the local authority, police and other agencies, particularly around the night-time economy, to relieve people who are in distress, injured, disoriented or displaying anti-social behaviour under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The nature of our work involves pastoral care of the general public and thereby we both demonstrate the intrinsic Christian value of loving our neighbour without prejudice and raise awareness of the relevance of faith and church life today, in terms of the problems and needs experienced by troubled individuals and groups within our community.
Primarily our Street Pastor work involves pastoral care in the streets by caring for, listening to and helping people. This is done through the organized patrols of Street Pastors who are trained to give reassurance, guidance, support or signposting to partnering agencies, in an effort to avoid anti-social behaviour and to preserve life, health and public order.
Our teams aim to patrol the night time economy areas between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. People leaving pubs or clubs late at night are often disorientated through drink or drugs and as such are at potential risk of sexual assault injury or other abuse. Our Street Pastors help them get to a safe place until they are able to look after themselves or simply to get home safely. We provide water to those in need of it, flip-flops particularly to women who can no longer cope with their high-heeled shoes and space blankets and other items to rough sleepers and or/homeless and to others to people who are inadequately clothed in very cold weather.
The rough sleepers are signposted to appropriate agencies, and in a rare occasion, very vulnerable rough sleepers, may be able to obtain overnight accommodation.
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We foster community safety also by doing Street Pastor patrols at festivals, community events or other public places where a calming influence and a positive presence is beneficial to the public. Our Coordinator and Senior Street Pastors work in close cooperation with the local police and local authority to establish the current status of particular community needs, where the trouble spots are and where our patrols will be most helpful. During the night-time economy patrols, we also liaise with the security staff of pubs, clubs and restaurants, in an effort to assist those who are in distress, injured, disorientated or displaying anti-social behaviour under the' influence of alcohol or drugs.
When faced with people displaying aggressive behaviour our Street Pastors use their training to attempt to defuse such behaviour or gang-related violence by mediating, taking a watching brief and reassuring people. Where this proves to be insufficient and when necessary, the Street Pastor Team Leader, can ask the Council led cameras to be placed on a developing and actual situation. A member of the team may also notify the police .of the situation for their appropriate intervention.
On patrol, often we meet rough sleepers. We engage with them in converation and seek to refer them to appropriate agencies to help them reintegrate into community life. When people have needs beyond our capacity (e.g. drug or alcohol dependency) we refer them on to specialised agencies.
In the discharge of duties, our Street Pastors patrol in a recognisable uniform,, distinguished by the Street Pastor logo and this sometimes elicits questions from the general public who wish to know more about our work and the Christian beliefs behind their work. When asked to, we share our belief in Jesus Christ and His love for all mankind and pray with individuals as requested. This enlightens others about Christianity and advances
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the Christian Faith for the benefit of the public. Further to this, we organize special events, to promote our work in the community.
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and recruit further volunteers to carry out our Street Pastor objects and the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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We also give presentations at inter-church events to raise awareness and understanding of the social needs of our community. At these events, it is hoped that more members of local churches will volunteer to become Street Pastors.
Community Capacity Building
As Street Pastors our work encompasses liaison with local authorities and police in a directed effort to mitigate and address issues emanating from socially disadvantaged groups or marginalized persons in our local community.
All our Street Pastors are trained to identify and appropriately deal with community needs in accordance with Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities and Confidentiality Policies. We strive to uphold best practice in the provision of our services for public benefit, usually organized in team patrols, mostly in night time economy areas between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights or at special festivals or community events.
Our primary aim would neither be successful nor sustainable if we did not promote volunteering and developed the capacity and skills of members of our community to better identify and help meet, not only their individual need to participate more fully in society, but also the need to provide a service that meets particular community needs through pastoral care of vulnerable or marginalized people on our streets.
Our Street Pastor License Agreement guides the transfer of knowledge and skills involved in public pastoral care. We do this with a view to raise the moral and spiritual welfare of our community, which results in greater social cohesion and helps us keep our streets and public places safe.
To this end our Street Pastors go through a rigorous training programme and regular refresher courses to ensure their knowledge, skills and self-confidence in the handling of public care is of a high standard and effective in benefiting the public. Among other disciplines, the training focuses on best practice derived from Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities and Confidentiality Policies.
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All our Street Pastor volunteers are adults, drawn from at least four different local denominations to ensure the breadth of our collective activity covers the public benefit requirement but moreover because we want the impact of our activities to be far-reaching, relevant and efficient in addressing the urban and social-ills within our community.
For this reason we rely intensely upon forming good working relationships with the police, local authority and others agencies, rather than being insular in our approach and form of outreach which may meet a targeted need but does not benefit the community as a whole. As Street Pastors are Christians who are members of a local church, our work demonstrates the compassion of Jesus Christ in very practical ways within the life of our community. In this manner we preserve the relevance of church and faith, to life and society by building the capacity and skills of Street Pastors as non-judgmental and non-discriminatory agents of peace, reconciliation and safety in our community. This is a positive influence upon public morality and civic cohesion.
Profit and Loss
Bury Street Pastors Initiative For the year ended 31 December 2023
| Profit and Loss Bury Street Pastors Initiative For the year ended 31 December 2023 |
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|---|---|
| 2023 | |
| Turnover | |
| Donations Received | 3,464.03 |
| Room Hire - Income | 1,075.00 |
| Street Pastors Training and Uniform | 490.00 |
| Street Pastors training given | 570.00 |
| Total Turnover | 5,599.03 |
| Cost of Sales | |
| ID badges | 6.00 |
| Purchase of Goods For Use on Street | 347.03 |
| Purchase of Training | 136.03 |
| Purchase of Uniform | 709.07 |
| Total Cost of Sales | 1,198.13 |
| Gross Profit | 4,400.90 |
| Administrative Costs | |
| Advertising & Marketing | 68.20 |
| Ascension Trust License Fee | 810.75 |
| Bank Fees | 65.28 |
| Cleaning | 19.55 |
| DBS Checks | 50.00 |
| General Expenses | 471.13 |
| IT Software and Consumables | 1,322.45 |
| Light, Power, Heating | (51.03) |
| Mobile Phones | 409.82 |
| Postage, Freight & Courier | 30.00 |
| Printing & Stationery | 251.05 |
| Purchase of Food for Street Pastors | 263.99 |
| Rates | 187.71 |
| Total Administrative Costs | 3,898.90 |
| Operating Profit | 502.00 |
| Profit on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation | 502.00 |
| Profit after Taxation | 502.00 |
Profit and Loss Bury Street Pastors Initiative
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