Shetland Street Pastors will begin patrols in Lerwick on 28th November.
Newly-trained volunteers will head out on the evening of the 28th November, ready to offer practical support to anyone in need. The patrols will follow the launch of this new Street Pastor initiative, which will attended by Chris Jewell, CEO of Street Pastors Scotland, who will commission the new volunteers earlier the same evening in Lerwick Baptist Church. At that occasion, greetings from the charity’s Royal Patron The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO will be read by the Lord Lieutenant Mr Lindsay Tulloch.
The introduction of the Shetland Street Pastor initiative follows months of preparation, with representatives from across many of Shetland’s churches undergoing training to equip them to respond.
Chairperson of Shetland Street Pastors, Ellen Griffiths Weir, said she was delighted that the new project is now up and running. ‘The police approached the Salvation Army back in 2022,’ she said. ‘The Salvation Army had run Town Pastors, and the police approached them and said ‘We’re aware of the positive impact Street Pastors has had elsewhere in Scotland; would you consider running something similar here?’
Chris added, ‘Street Pastors Scotland are delighted that Shetland Street Pastors are ready to begin patrols this month. The patrols will be once a month initially, on payday weekends, and may be more regularly as more volunteers are recruited to the team.
