In a move to enhance the safety and wellbeing of the Putney community, a new safe space initiative is set to launch on the 26th of April 2024. This initiative is being managed by Positively Putney with the space being staffed by volunteer street angels. In response to the growing nighttime economy we saw a need for a safe space in Putney. The safe space will operate on Friday nights from 10pm to 3am based in Church Square at the bottom of Putney High Street.
In February 2022, Wandsworth Council undertook an audit of the town centres between 6pm and 6am through a series of night drives. During this audit it became clear that Putney has a thriving night time economy with patrons continuing to use the area long after most of the night time venues have closed. The town centre was notably busy until 4am, despite only one venue still being open until that time. Many young people stayed on the streets buying fast-food and continuing to socialise.
The safe space program has been designed to cater to the different needs of people who use Putney enabling both Putney visitors and residents to feel safe at night. The project aims to aid local night-time economy businesses and support the efforts of the police and NHS by providing a well-managed safe area.
The safe space is being run by a team of volunteers, from a range of backgrounds. A big thank you to the twenty volunteers who have signed up already. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact Positively Putney, the requested commitment is one Friday a month.
The Putney street angels expect to encounter lots of differing issues during a shift and therefore training has been provided on topics including:
- Partnerships and external support
- Listening skills and boundaries
- Violence against women and girls, anti-sexual harassment and being an active bystander
- Vulnerabilities and issues that they might encounter and how to handle them – drugs/alcohol
- Mental Health
- Conflict Awareness
- Suicide intervention
- Emergency first aid
Positively Putney have utilised the experience of ROC Street Angels, a national organisation whilst planning this project. Their success in creating safer night-time environments over nearly twenty years has been invaluable to the Putney safe space project.
The Putney Street Angels team will be easily identifiable in branded blue jackets. If you are out in Putney on a Friday do stop them for a chat.