Jayna Patel Twenty First Century Good Samaritans Once dubbed the Wild West of West Yorkshire, Halifax

town centre has been transformed by Christian charity Halifax Street Angels, from criminal chaos on a Friday and Saturday night, to a place where people can let their hair down and enjoy a night out. By day Halifax Town Centre, with its grey tinge and uneven flagstones encrusted with flattened chewing gum and littered with discarded fag ends, is brimming with discount Pound stores and scrawny pigeons ravenously partying outside Greggs, feasting on scraps of dried pasty. But at night its a different story. When darkness begins to fall Halifax erupts into life, with the streets splashed in an array of colours sported by tottering girls balancing precariously in skyscraper heels and waddling in skin-tight, revealing dresses, accompanied by rowdy men united in the carefree drunken euphoria of the weekend. Upbeat music escapes from the overcrowded pubs that buzz with conversation and laughter, drowning out the frequent sound of sirens in the background. Although this might sound familiar to anyone whos been in one of Britains town centres on a weekend night, Halifax Street Angels manager, Ellis King laughs as he tells me Halifax had quite a notorious reputation: I think we had more bars per square mile than any other place in the country. Drink was cheaper than most places, so top of the hill you could get any drink you want for about 75p and I think it became known as the Wild West of West Yorkshire. Violence was a big thing; I mean you could set your alarm by the violence. You knew, about 2 oclock it was going to kick off between a couple of clubs. Since launching in 2005, West Yorkshire Police have praised the charity, which helps vulnerable people on a night out, as playing a major role in reducing violent crime by 42% in its first year alone, increasing to a staggering 67% after three to four years. It is a trend that is spectacularly echoed throughout the 120 British cities in which Street Angels now operates; in fact the charity has been so successful that in July 2013 the organisation expanded its remit to helping make the Spanish holiday resort, Santa Ponsa in Majorca a safer place to party. A team of 24 volunteers went over to patrol the streets and curb drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour, and hope to take their positive and sobering presence to the neighbouring club-central resort, Magaluf. Confronting people in troubled or vulnerable states cannot be a walk in the park, but when I visit the small and cosy volunteer-run Angels Rest Caf, which Ellis opened as a business caf and Christian bookshop located at the heart of Halifax Town Centre in August 2013, I am immediately moved by the overwhelmingly friendly atmosphere and warm glow of the fellowship that is clearly shared between the volunteers nursing steaming paper cups of coffee. Behind the counter is a bubbly, young Asian girl who asks repeatedly if I would like a drink, whilst Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) donning florescent yellow jackets sit in a horseshoe sharing banter over hot brews. At a breakfast bar facing the window looking out onto the street, perched on a barstool is a middle aged man who introduces himself as Colin, one of the only paid employees who oversees the Fist Aid business, as he firmly, yet welcomingly shakes my hand. On the

Jayna Patel neighbouring barstool is the causally draped figure that is Ellis, who greets me with a boyish grin. It is impossible not feel accepted here. The easy nature of the way the charity operates soon becomes apparent as I observe a typical Saturday 9pm briefing. After the PCSOs update Ellis and the volunteers on the past weeks pub and crime related issues, peace falls on the charming caf as Ellis leads the group in a short but heartfelt prayer for the safety of those clubbing in Halifax. A generous offering of Ferrero Rochers is pushed into my palm by the beaming girl from behind the counter, as Ellis casually asks Colin if he can lead a team, to which a smirking Colin replies Only if I can go for a fag first. Ellis informs me: When it comes to volunteers, were quite loose, we dont have a rota system or anything. I just turn up and manage the people that we have. Weve always had enough volunteers to run; weve never had to tell anyone you have to be here this night. A placid Asian man, Hassan sits at a table, alone sipping coffee. He reveals that to him the Caf is like a sanctuary, he goes each weekend for the company after suffering race-related problems at a few local pubs. As the first team of three, which always contains one female, is dispatched, Ellis leads me up a narrow staircase to a room above the caf, which he rents off the adjourning YMCA. Jokingly describing the room, cluttered with bags full of First Aid equipment and towers of boxes, overflowing with yellow jackets and various odds and ends, as an office/bomb site, Ellis pulls up two chairs in the centre of the muddled mess. Ellis tells me how the Street Angels Christian Nightlife Initiative was born out of the national body, Churches Together and YMCAs response to Halifaxs out of control violence, under age binge drinking and sexual assaults that typically increased on a weekend night. Originally the caf would be open until the late hours so anyone who needed any help could come and ask for whatever they needed and volunteers would try to support them in any way they could. Delightfully, the response on the 25th November 2005 pushed the cafs capacity to the brink with 50 enthusiastic volunteers showing up, thus the idea of patrolling the streets prevailed, with the caf serving as a base. But the charitys role extends well beyond helping people whove had too much to drink. I think its about 12,000 people who go out on weekends and theres so many different people with so many different needs. Were not really a charity that can be pigeon holed in the sense that youve got a lot of charities that say we help the homeless or we help children, Ellis explains. So we come across all sorts, he adds with a knowing smile. We have pregnant women carrying bin bags who have been abused by their boyfriends and left them and not had a place to go, so weve contacted the services necessary. Weve had kids in care whove run away from homes they said were not very pleasant and luckily, one of our volunteers, who works for Childrens Rights, she knows all the contacts to, either get them back home if they change their mind or, if its not due to any kind of abuse, get them where they need to be, somewhere safe at least.

Jayna Patel Ellis smile fades a little as he recalls one of his most emotional memories working with the charity. Sometimes we do see people at their most vulnerable, we see what kind of problems theyve got going on, how hard things can get. I mean we had a guy once just standing outside, just a bit further up the hill. It was hammering down with rain and I was walking up the hill and theres a guy in the middle of the road, just sort of crawling, and I suspected he was just sort of drunk, as you do, probably why you shouldnt just assume. Anyway, we went over, sort of asked him if he were OK. It actually turned out he was absolutely, completely in tears. He was in his mid-forties and his son had died and it would have been his 18th birthday that day and obviously hed gone out, had a few drinks and well he was on the floor in our caf just sort of tensed up, crying for about half an hour. We try to be as sort of sensitive as we can in those situations, I mean we try and think whats best for them. We dont want people to feel that theyre not being treated well or in some way they were patronised. So we had Colin, whos about his age, just try and chat with the guy, offer him a bit of help, as he began to calm down, I think we made him a brew, let him chat it out and get everything out of his system, before getting him a taxi home. After being momentarily distant Ellis continues, saying a crucial characteristic of a volunteer is not to make people feel ashamed. You cant spend all your time being judgemental, I mean I couldve just walked past that guy thinking aw hes had a bit too much to drink, hes a victim of his own silliness, but there was more to it than that, that you couldnt see until we actually approached him. So I think for me personally, the more I do this, the more I see the importance of not being judgemental, plus were a Christian charity, thats founded on Christian ideas. Its not your job to judge, its to help, you know, youre called to be like Jesus, not be Jesus. God can judge, God can do all that, he laughs. Be like Jesus and Jesus was kind, caring and loving. Whether his charitys work involves picking up glass bottles that could be used as weapons, acting as a preventative of crime, or dishing out flip-flops to tipsy girls whove abandoned their uncomfortable heels, Ellis seems completely modest and down to earth about his work. Our volunteers are motivated, week in and week out cos, were a charity where you can really see the difference youre making. The person youre helping is there. Youve got your hand on their shoulder, youve got the sick bucket in front of them, youre sitting them down, youre speaking with them. Some volunteers are so dedicated that they have been known to meet with a vulnerable person outside the Street Angels patrol hours of 9-3am on weekend nights, to make sure they are alright and have attended the treatment services that the charity might have referred them to. Some people the organisation have helped have been so grateful they have made substantial donations, which, together with grants from the police, money from the Calderdale Council and profits generated from training volunteers and the public in First Aid, plus gifts from schools for speaking to young people about alcohol safety, help fund Street Angels.

Jayna Patel We leave the caf and embark on a patrol with Colin and another male volunteer. Its nippy outside and I can see Colins breath as he explains, while Halifax may look like a ghost-town, deserted and quiet now, he can guarantee it will be bursting with life come an hour or two. With Halifax having less than ten clubs, patrol is a brief loop of the centre. While I feel self-conscious in my bright yellow jacket, Ellis wears his radiating with pride, reminding me again of his humbleness. As we approach the top of the hill noise of hedonistic laughter reaches our ears as eager punters, some already intoxicated, crowd in a disorderly queue, waiting for entrance into the Acapulco club, famed for its scantily dressed women and ridiculously cheap drinks. The volunteers seem instantly recognisable to most, as Colin exchanges hellos with club bouncers and people shout Street Angels. Just as Ellis is telling me that the fifty regular volunteers often enjoy discounted nights out on birthdays, we walk past a trio of skimpily clad young girls, in which one girl is speaking rapidly into her mobile, her face stained with tears. Colin, who doubles back and doesnt hesitate to approach the hysterical girls, careful not to seem overbearing, and asks if they are alright. Thanking Colin, they assure him they are fine and it serves as a reminder that while alcohol distorts and heightens emotions, not everyone wants help. While Street Angels might not have completely saved Halifax, with Ellis conceding: most places, wherever you find people, youre going to find issues, citing drugs as still being a major problem, he claims: The council, the police, us to some degree, and others have worked really hard just to build this town up. The church [New Ebenezer Methodist] has made a massive impact. Such an impact in fact, that that Halifax is the only town in West Yorkshire to be awarded the Purple Flag Award for three years running for having a clean, safe and vibrant town centre for nights out, whilst Halifax Street Angels gained the Big Society Award in 2012 for helping to strengthen communities and improve lives. They say Red Bull gives you wings but Halifax Street Angels truly have restored Halifax to its former glory. With the BBC flocking to the surrounding lush Yorkshire hills and idyllic valleys to film programmes The Last Tango in Halifax and upcoming drama Happy Valley, Halifax, with its historical landmarks like the Georgian Piece Hall and the help of Street Angels, is becoming a heavenly place to be, day or night. 2198