The charity has a long association with the 3 counties of West Mercia; founded as the Hereford City Mission in 1856, and in 2013 it becoming Vennture.
An independent charity, it helps people in difficulty to make a fresh start. You’ll find Vennture working hard in partnership with public bodies to support the community in the home, on the street, in prisons and schools, and at their safe hub.
One long-established service is Street Presence...
Developed with Herefordshire's Command Team over 12 years, Street Presence delivers highly effective, uniformed volunteer presence that provides a reassuring presence and medical triage to those most vulnerable on Herefordshire’s streets. Working closely with West Mercia Police and local services, this programme builds trust, fosters community resilience, and offers a cost-effective alternative to crisis response, saving just over thousands in ambulance call outs alone in 2024.
Alongside adult volunteers, student volunteers run a night-time street triage and recovery centre, a dedicated safe space in the city where they can care for people. Rigorously trained volunteers care for the injured or impaired, accurately assessing and providing first aid, supervising recovery, and reuniting them with friends and family.
West Mercia's business suppliers and contract social value to collaborate with Vennture...
Through the creation of the DICM (West Mercia) social value marketplace the region's business suppliers to emergency services, councils, NHS and criminal justice services are able to forge impact collaborations with Vennture, to maintain Street Presence teams out on the streets during busy weekend nights, providing an invaluable presence and working closely with local businesses, doormen and the police to identify people that need help, preventing unnecessary 999 calls and reducing pressure on public services.