Archbishop of York Youth Trust Award Winner 2009 - Fiona Holmes

Fiona Holmes, Newcastle Street Pastor Award Winner

An average Saturday night with the Newcastle Street Pastors could see them feeding the homeless, diffusing a violent alcohol-fuelled situation or making sure a woman worse the wear for drink gets home safely.

Teams of three and four volunteers, who have radio contact with the police and door staff, offer pastoral support and practical help around the city nightspots on Friday and Saturdays between 10pm and 4am. The bars and streets can become packed with up to 90,000 people at weekends.

The Street Pastors project was started in London in 2003 and has now mushroomed to 111 locations across the UK. Police figures show a significant drop in weekend incidents where Street Pastors are in operation. Project co-ordinator Sam Douthwhwaite says: "We don't go looking to preach to people. We simply get out there to be a pastoral presence and to love people and care for them. We encounter people who've had too much to drink and lots of vulnerable people."

The project will use the Youth Trust grant to set up a new initiative in the Eldon Square shopping area of the city, making Street Pastors available to young people in the city centre on a Saturday afternoon.