The idea
The Night Angels launched in Stroud in 2023 as part of Safe Space which is a scheme started in 2022 following a spate of rapes, attacks and lewd acts on women. We have over 500 safe spaces within the South West, including over 250 Stage Coach buses.
We have a base and a charity shop in Stroud where the NIght Angels have been running for 10 months and we have attend to over 160 incidents.
In the very near future we are setting up the Night Angel service in Gloucester City along with a Safe Haven. We work closely with the police and councils.
We are a team of women volunteers (over 70 and growing) that patrols the streets at night to help vulnerable women stay safe. We also attend public events and we intend to visit school, colleges and universities to start early intervention in the near future.
Our project is seeking funding for our Stroud Team to continue our service.
We are highly trained and we carry and AED, first aid, bags, Naloxone, bleed kits and many more supplies.
What we'll deliver
- Safety and first aid to women during the weekends at night
- A Safe Haven for women experiencing domestic violence
- Transport to extend patrols and offer safeguarding
Why it's a great idea
Violence towards women and girls are on the rise so having our Night Angel Team in the Stroud District are will benefit all women using the nighttime economy. The angels will also be on the Stroud to Gloucester evening trains in the very near future, this has been developed since statistics show a 50% increase in violence against women and girls on the trains.
The project is aimed to keep women safe in Stroud whilst they are out enjoying the night time economy. The Angels are highly trained in all aspects of health and will help all women stay safe during the night time. The team carry a ruck sack each containing life saving equipment, which is administered to not only women but we do also help men on occasion. We have carried out a survey and the women of Stroud are starting to feel safer, however there are more locations that we need to assess.
We would like to provide transport (a car) to help more women in the Stroud District get home safely and an app.
Steps to get it done
- Having protective uniform and DBS for all volunteers
The Night Angels have reduced the strain on the emergency services in Stroud District. To date we have attended 165 incidents, to include first aid and transport, given out 220 bottles of water, 516 lollies and we have picked up 813 bottles/glass and other harmful items off of the street and disposed of them.
