Herefordshire charity giving medical training to teenagers to help in Hereford during the night-time
It's part of Vennture’s Lean on Me programme which aims to ease pressure on emergency services through early intervention in the night-time economy
A group of 16 and 17 year-olds in Hereford have been learning how they can play their part in keeping the city safe during the night-time.
Seventeen have been receiving training through Herefordshire charity Vennture's Lean on Me programme and will soon join the Street Presence team on Fridays and Saturdays between 6:30pm and 3am.
Operating from an adapted mobile unit, Lean on Me is part of a wider partnership involving local businesses, specialist services, the church, and police, all working together to make Hereford’s night-time economy safer.
The teenagers work under the supervision of an experienced adult volunteer and currently finish by 11pm before they'll move on to later shifts once they turn 18.
Its overall aim is to ease pressure on emergency services through early intervention and the charity say so far this year it has responded to 245 incidents and prevented 24 emergency callouts.
Volunteer coordinator at Vennture Imogen Abbott said: "It is all about making sure people have a good time and come home safe, we are there to look after people who just find themselves a bit vulnerable on a night out but maybe don't need police intervention or don't need to go to A&E or an ambulance.
"We train them up to be what we call medical assessors, so they do get to a very high level of training and they they give up seven Saturdays of their time to complete all of this which includes the likes of first aid and mental health awareness training.
"Most of the volunteers are aspiring medics or want to go into some form of caring role, so it's actually giving them hands on experience in doing that for their local community as well as looking after and giving back to their local community in a really tangible way."
The charity say each recruit must pass three accredited courses and take part in scenario-based practice and role play, with volunteers expected to begin shifts by the end of November.