Volunteers needed for Street Guardians initiative

A call for more volunteers has been made for a project which is helping vulnerable people to stay safe.

Wearing ‘Here to help’ tabards, the Street Guardians will:

The scheme started in Langley, as part of the Safer Langley initiative, but they are now looking for volunteers across the town.

Safer Streets funding from the Office of Police Crime Commissioner has been used for the project, to tackle neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls (VAWG) and anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Simon Edwards, from Slough Street Guardians, said: “We have five volunteers and a coordinator who do a great job and really enjoy meeting people when out and about. We recently had a visit from Slough MP Tan Dhesi who was keen to hear more about our work.

“The volunteers are friendly and approachable and provide a reassuring presence. We would love to be able to patrol more often, or go into different areas across Slough, but we do need to build up the number of volunteers to do that. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.”

Councillor Ejaz Ahmed, lead member for communities, sport, leisure and public protection, said: “I commend these volunteers for being a visible presence in the community, for speaking to people in need and signposting them to support.

“The volunteers make a great contribution to keeping people safe in the community and it would be great if more people could join them so they can patrol a wider area.”

Led by Slough Community Transport and Shop Mobility, with support from the council, the project has been running since last year, and now also incorporates the Safe Places Scheme for the town.

The Street Guardians project was recently Highly Commended at the One Slough Awards.

To find out more, or to express interest in volunteering, email 01753 691133 or email sctshub@outlook.com