A GIBBONSDOWN mum is taking time out from her studies and household chores to ensure Cardiff city centre revellers and visitors stay safe.

Mum-of-two Lynette Thorne has enlisted as a street pastor - trained volunteers from local churches who care about their community.

Street pastors patrol in teams of men and women, usually from 10pm to 4am on a Friday and Saturday night.

They care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.

Cardiff street pastors patrol the city centre, mainly Mill Lane, St Mary’s, Caroline, Queen, and Womanby Streets as well as Greyfriars and Churchill Way.

Thirty-year-old Lynette said she had learnt about the street pastor scheme when Gary Smith, the director of Cardiff Street Pastors, had given a talk at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, in Barry.

Lynette said: “I had never heard of them before and I thought this was something I wanted to be involved with. It’s all very well being a Christian professing loving, but this was about doing and showing people love.”

Lynette began training in February this year and in March went into the city centre on an observation shift

She said her first job as the team’s sole woman had been “quite scary.”

She said: “It was my first time and it was my job to deal with a situation, but it felt a privilege to be able to help.

“I get such a profound feeling of love for people out on the streets – to be able to help somebody and do a random act of kindness.”

Street pastors work in small teams and operate in close partnership with the police, but with a very different role. They go out in full uniform and equipped with various equipment and supplies.

Free items they distribute include Flip-Flops – given mostly to women who have broken or abandoned high-heel shoes, bottles of water to combat dehydration, and foil blankets when people are ill-equipped for drops in temperature as night falls.

Coordinator for Cardiff Street pastors Jackie Bradshaw said Cardiff street pastors started in November 2008 with a team of 18.

It now has 64 street pastors, ranging from the age of early 20s to mid-70s, derived from 25 churches in the Barry, Penarth and Cardiff area.

Jackie said: “We will hold recruitment nights a couple of times a year and will inform churches in the area to invite their members if they are interested in becoming a street pastor. We also have a website and Facebook page. We do find that it is often word and mouth and the experiences from street pastors that people become interested in what we do.”

She added: “We respond to problems like anti-social behaviour, public disorder and feelings of insecurity by ‘caring, listening and engaging with those vulnerable persons on the street. ‘Being there’ without preaching or prejudice is our primary goal. Some street pastors have said their primary role is to make sure that people get home safely. It is practical, just helping people, chatting and building relations with them.

"It is very much hands-on in terms of getting involved and identifying people who have a need and just being aware of the surroundings. We want to help people who may be vulnerable and struggling on the streets at night. We do get a lot of recognition now and during the night can have numerous people come up and say what a great job we are doing and how we helped them or a friend a while ago. Together with the night-time economy workers street pastors are making a difference and great partnerships have been formed. Local licensees even support the scheme by providing water. It’s a team effort and it shows what differences can be made when people/organizations partner together. The scheme is highly valued by the police, paramedics, licensees, and night time economy workers.”