FIRST NIGHT ON THE SOS BUS........

FIRST NIGHT OUT ON SOS BUS – Patrick Black

I am a final year geography student at Queen’s University, and I am currently helping out in the SOS BUS office as part of one my modules, “Geography at Work”. The module focuses on how geography students can apply the skills they learn at university to the workplace.

On Saturday night (24th October) I headed out for my first night on the bus, despite being nearly blown off our feet by the wind, I think we had a very successful night!
I wasn’t the only newbie on the team which was some comfort as our first “customer” appeared more than a little disgruntled, (apparently kebab shop owners don’t like how the bus hands out free biscuits as it reduces their sales)!

However, by the end of our conversation myself and another new guy, Alan, had convinced him to sign up and volunteer on the bus, talk about a turnaround!

It was great to get chatting to the people who stopped at the bus and I was especially surprised at how many international visitors we had in Belfast! In the space of an hour I had spoken to five guys from India, a lady from Chile, two Italians and a couple of girls from USA.

To see the work of the bus in action was really interesting. Simply by offering a cup of tea and a listening ear, with the combined presence of the bus itself sparking peoples’ curiosity, has such a calming effect on the area.

People would approach the bus, perhaps a little worse for wear or seeming slightly on edge but would leave with a cup of tea or soup, a little more settled and with a clearer picture of how they were going to get home safely.

To have a qualified paramedic on hand with the ability to collect people in need from nightclubs/pubs directly is such a good service. I was able to see the whole process in action when team leader Alan went to collect a guy who had fallen at a club, been looked after by the doormen who called the SOS BUS, was picked up, brought back to the bus, checked over by the paramedic and then taken home on the SOS minibus. It’s efficient and it relieves the stress on the emergency services.

I really enjoyed my first night out on the bus and definitely will be signing up to help out every few weeks!