Street Ambassadors back on the beat

From this Friday, 5 November, Nelson people venturing out after dark will again notice our Street Ambassadors spreading safety messages. The team in their distinctive orange vests will be on duty each weekend from 9.30pm till 4am as the summer party season warms up.

Nelson City Council’s Safe City Adviser Ingrid Beach says, “Council has been involved in delivering this service since 2004.  Our Street Ambassadors now have a very good rapport with the young people who are out partying over summer. Because of that, young people know there are people they can talk to if they are in need of help or advice throughout the night.”

Feedback about the Street Ambassador Service is that it plays an important role in reducing trouble on the streets over summer and keeping Nelson a safe place for everyone to enjoy. The Street Ambassadors work in pairs throughout the weekend nights, delivering safety messages, offering advice and assistance when needed and intervening with the aim to stop trouble before it starts.  In past years, the presence of the Street Ambassadors has reduced conflict and aggression. They’ve helped to calm down situations that could have led to violence and in some cases, got police involved for an early intervention.  

Street Ambassadors don’t work alone. They keep in touch via cell phones and radios with Police, Maori Wardens and Nelson Community Patrol volunteers, who monitor the closed circuit television cameras on the weekend nights.  Street Ambassadors Team Leaders are qualified to administer first aid. 

Council is joined by Ministry of Justice Community Relations and Operations, the Canterbury Community Trust, and the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board in funding the programme.  The Ambassadors are all experienced youth workers provided by HYPE-GS (Help for Young People at Events and Gathering Spaces).  The Ambassadors will be out on the streets until the last Saturday in March 2011.