Case Study: Cheshire West Street Pastors
Street Pastors are volunteers from Churches in Chester and Ellesmere Port. We aim to listen, care, chat and offer practical assistance. In the night time setting of Chester, sometimes problems arise and individuals can feel isolated or vulnerable.
We believe the Church has an important role to play in making our city a safer place, Street Pastors are demonstrating that commitment. In Ellesmere Port as well as walking the streets, we visit a range of community buildings offering support and building bridges with the community. In both settings we provide an opportunity for those who wish to reflect on spiritual matters and support those in distress. We offer our services to everyone regardless of whether they have faith or not.
Whilst the Street Pastors are volunteers we invest significantly in their training covering issues such as Street Safety, Drugs and Alcohol, Listening Skills and much more. Whilst we retain our independence as the friend on the street we are committed to strong Partnership links with Cheshire West and Chester council, Cheshire Police, West Cheshire PCT and numerous other local agencies.
Case Study: Community Acts of Kindness
One of the key elements of Chesterfest has been young people, serving their community through various projects.
Under the guidance of project leaders, work has been mainly undertaken by 11–17 year olds along with their youth leaders. Activities have ranged from clearing and planting a wildlife garden for a local playgroup, helping to organise and run kids clubs and family outdoor activities, providing pampering sessions for single mums, and a creative project supporting children coming to terms with bereavement.
Sustainability has been an influential factor in the design of some projects and this has been particularly successful with those teams who continue to provide musical entertainment, gentle exercise and friendship to older people, in several residential homes. Residents and staff welcome this regular input and for many it is their only contact with young people.
Case Study: dBiz youth cafes
D'Biz is a network of Community Youth Projects in and around Chester. All our projects run in partnership between the Light Project and the local Christian community - usually a local church. D’Biz has 10 community youth groups across West Cheshire set up to meet the needs of local young people. They provide a safe place where young people can meet positive adult role models and build up helping relationships. D’Biz works to encourage holistic development of young people by a variety of activities and programmes in line with national youth strategies.
Our youth clubs are set up as enjoyable places to be in themselves and not just the only alternative to being outside. They run weekly, providing equipment and activities that many young people may not normally be able to access.
D’Biz draws young people from a range of age groups, backgrounds and cultures. Together with the Light Project, D’Biz works to help pioneer, support and train emerging youth clubs and detached work across West Cheshire and Chester.
Case Study: Options Pregnancy Crisis and Post Abortion Counselling Service
Options is an organisation set up to meet the needs of both women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy, giving them the time and space to talk about their situation, feelings and all the available choices. It also offers a post-abortion recovery programme called ‘The Journey’ for those facing emotional problems following an abortion.
Options is affiliated to CareConfidential, an organisation helping to network pregnancy crisis centres throughout the UK (www.careconfidential.com). Options is a registered charity (number 1126108).
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