Street Pastors is an initiative of Ascension Trust and was pioneered in London in 2003. On that first night, 18 volunteers took to the streets of Brixton – 15 women and 3 men.

There are now 11,000 trained street pastors, and they play an active part in more than 240 UK towns and cities. There are a growing number of Street Pastors teams overseas.

Street Pastors engage with people on the streets to care for them, listen to them and help them. They work together with other partners in the night-time economy to make communities safer.

Each city project is set up byAscension Trust and run by a local coordinator with support from local churches and community groups, in partnership with the police, local council and other statutory agencies.

“Street Pastors is about Christians rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in practically responding to the problems of crime and safety. They are like beacons on our streets and I want to see them shining brightly in every constituency.”

David Burrowes MP and patron of Street Pastors