Student volunteers to provide “safe haven” for students tonight
By James Poole
A pilot scheme which aims to support Durham students on nights out is set to launch tonight.
Around 16 student volunteers from Student Community Action (SCA) will move around Durham City tonight between 10pm and 2:30am offering help to students.
Volunteers will be based at a “safe haven”, the location of which will not be revealed in order to avoid unwanted media attention.
Rebecca Byrne, Administrator for Student Community Action, told Palatinate:
“Teams of volunteers will be rotating around various locations within Durham City tonight, with volunteers present at the safe haven throughout the night. We can’t release the location of the safe haven as we want to limit the amount of media coverage at the haven itself.”
The volunteer scheme will run every Wednesday night for the remaining three weeks of term and is due to be reviewed over the Easter break.
One student volunteer, Adam Dempsey, said:
“This is a great scheme that will be really valuable to students following recent events. We’ll be there for students to offer help if and when they need it.”
Jess Bygrave, another student volunteer, told Palatinate:
“We’re students who want to make a difference to student safety in Durham. We want students to be aware that we’re looking out for each other and are here to help.”
Photograph: James Poole
Great news. Great to hear about the commitment of the students to keeping this place safe.
DICCU will also be out tonight around Loveshack. Come and say hello!
A ‘safe haven’ from what? Which ‘recent events’? This article is silent on all the key points. It didn’t mention, alcohol or the river once. Why is that?
It’s great that there are volunteers prepared to look out for others. But in addition, the following message from the RLSS should be reported. Yes it’s blunt, but it’s factual & it might save lives:
It only takes a split second for happy hour to end in a nightmare. Figures state that about a quarter of all adult drowning victims have alcohol in their bloodstream. If you’ve had a drink, stay away from the water.
STAY SAFE:
*Don’t walk home near water, you might fall in
*Look out for your friends – make sure they get home safely
*Alcohol seriously affects your ability to get yourself out of trouble
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL:
*Alcohol lowers inhibitions, leading to impaired judgment which means you are more likely to take risks and get into trouble
*Alcohol limits muscle ability making simple movements much harder
*Alcohol slows down your reactions making it more difficult to get yourself out of trouble
*Alcohol numbs the senses particularly sight, sound and touch making swimming very difficult
KEEP SAFE, DON’T DRINK AND DROWN