Volunteers hop at opportunity to serve

Armed with two marques, beanbags and an ambulance, the Red Frogs Support Network is busy on the streets of Auckland.

The group of volunteers is reaching the end of their four-week collaboration with St John, a partnership now in its fifth year.

Regional communications advisor for St John, Jennifer Porter, said the initiative came about following conversations with police, council and ACC about the vulnerability of young people in the city late at night.

“The key to the success of the Auckland Safe Zone is linking clinical health care with volunteers that can relate to young people and offer social support,” Ms Porter said.

With set-up beginning at 9pm and the pack-down happening at 4am, volunteers are in for a long night.

Bridgette MacKenzie is a regular team leader at Red Frogs events and said they’ve noticed a healthier party atmosphere this year.

“This project’s been running for four or five years and we’re starting to see the culture shift which is really cool.”

Ms MacKenzie said one of the most rewarding aspects about the initiative is developing a friendship with people new to the city.

“We’ve had a group of university students visiting us two or three weeks in a row and we’re able to catch up with them and ask them about their week.”

“It’s a friendly, familiar face [when] they haven’t made a lot of connections with people in Auckland yet. That familiar connection provides a little bit of stability [for them],” Ms MacKenzie said.

Taylor Sturt is a 19-year-old student who has been volunteering with the organisation for about two years.

“You get to be the sober friend, but just on a way larger scale,” Mr Sturt said.

“I love meeting new people and this is one of the easiest ways to do it.”

In 2016, more than 10,000 people visited the Safe Zone over a period of 16 nights. Seventy-one were assessed and treated by St John.

Red Frogs began in 1997 when a youth pastor began handing out red frog lollies to young partygoers on the Gold Coast.