Diss initiative for Norfolk Street Partnership
 A new branch of the Norfolk Street Partnership initiative hit the streets of Diss last Friday (October 1) night aiming to lend a hand to those in need. Elspeth Taylor reports.
Norfolk Street Partnership is a Christian charity supported by volunteers from around 35 Norfolk churches. It regularly sends teams of Christians out on the streets, around the pubs and clubs in places such as Norwich, Yarmouth and Dereham, to keep an eye out for anyone in need.
Working in partnership with the Police, the groups of volunteers aim to build links within the community by providing practical help and a listening ear to late night revellers and those suffering from drug or alcohol abuse.
Diss Street Partnership Coordinator John Heasley, who used to run a youth club at Diss Christian Community Church on a Friday evening, said: “I realised that some of the kids that were coming to our youth group would now be about 17 or 18, and would probably be out in Diss on a Friday night. I know some of them, and I wanted to use the links that I already had with them to try to help.
“Diss can be a bit of a nightmare at the weekend, people will save Saturday night for the ‘big night out’ in Norwich or Ipswich and just go out locally on the Friday, so it gets quite busy.”
As part of the service they offer, the Street Volunteers carry leaflets on everything from pregnancy choices to bereavement counselling, to provide information on professional organisations that are qualified to help with specific issues.
John made a map of the town and highlighted areas for the team to target. “We just want to get to know the local youth, to try to signpost people towards help and aim to be a calming influence in the town. We’re not the Police, or the ‘religious police’, but we can clean up people who’ve had too much, listen to their worries, provide tissues or hot drinks and generally make sure people stay safe.”
On Friday night, a small Street Volunteer team met in a room above Costa Coffee, and were prayed for by a group of 20 ‘Prayer Volunteers’, who stayed in contact through the night via mobile phone.
John said: “We headed out at about 9pm; the night was quiet but we visited the areas we had highlighted and had some great chats with people on the street and some local business people, too. One of the most encouraging things was the local police force, who made us feel welcome on the streets with them.
“We returned to our three remaining Prayer Volunteers above Costa Coffee at around midnight and called it a night. It was a good evening and it’s given us more insight into how to be there for our community.”
The current plan is to run the scheme on every last Friday in the month, to coincide with people’s pay day. It is thought that this will be a prime time for locals to be out in the pubs and bars in town. The long-term plan is to go out every Friday night, with a possibility of also patrolling busy market days, to provide information and support to anyone who needs it during the day.
If you would like to find out more about the Norfolk Street Partnership or are interested in lending your support, please contact coordinator, Paul Rendell, on 07500 113481.
Pictured above are Diss Street Volunteers John and Tanya Heasley.
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