It is Freshers’ Week. Many new students will be coming to the city to start a ‘fresh’ new life and will be eager to go out and enjoy Plymouth’s buzzing nightlife. But some may be wondering where to go for help if they find themselves in a tricky predicament.
There are services available to help you if you need it, whether you want to visit a safe space to talk to trained staff or you need to speak to somebody because you feel that something isn’t right.
There’s lots of help during your night out, including:
- night patrol offer welfare and medical support on Wednesdays and Fridays – you can find them in the city centre
- Ask for Angela – if you are feeling concerned or vulnerable, just ‘ask for Angela’ at the bar, and the staff will help you
- the anti-spiking campaign is there to support you and deter offenders, there are posters in our bars and clubs
- bar and venue staff are there to help, just ask
- street pastors offer welfare support on Saturday nights, they will also offer bottled water
- many local venues are Best Bar None accredited. Venues have to have an assessment to show that they are responsibly and legally managed and put the welfare and care of their customers as a priority
- the Safe Bus is operating extra shifts during Freshers’ Week to keep the new (and old) students and late night revellers of Plymouth safe between 21 and 23 September. This is a partnership between NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group and Devon and Cornwall Police
- the Police are there to help you if you need it
- there are Help Points around the city centre, the Barbican and Mutley to make people, especially women and girls, feel safer.
- There are a lot of people in the night time economy who can help you, just ask.
Devon and Cornwall Police have a range of contacts on their website which may be useful. You can find these here: Plymouth students | Devon and Cornwall Police (devon-cornwall.police.uk)