More than 20 businesses in Westbury have signed up to the national ‘Safe Places’ scheme.
Safe Places is a scheme encouraging businesses to provide initial support to anyone who feels lost and vulnerable when out and about in their community.
Safe Places are there to be used when people may feel in need of a little extra help or support for various reasons; for example, during times of anxiety, fear or distress.
Businesses and organisations who are part of the Safe Places project will display an A5 size round Safe Place sticker in their window to alert people that they are a ‘Safe Place’.
People can choose to carry an ICE card (In Case of Emergency), which they can show when they use a Safe Place in order to obtain the support they require. These ICE cards are available through the Safe Places scheme and can be obtained from members of the steering group and local libraries.
People can also choose to show other emergency and support cards where appropriate, for example, dementia helpcards.
In Wiltshire, Safe Places has received funding from the Wiltshire Police Commissioner through the Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership. This Partnership came to one of the BA13 Community Area Partnerships meetings last year and volunteered to roll this out in Westbury alongside the Area Board.
Whilst this scheme isn’t practical for all businesses, all the Westbury shops visited have experience of dealing with the odd emergency or have provided information and advice to people in need.
If you would like a visit concerning ICE cards or anything else to do with Safe Places, please contact Phil McMullen the BA13+ Partnership Administrator at BA1plus@outlook.com
