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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAmbulance and IPM security team on-site at the Safe Square. Credit: Safe Square <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dean Lorimer, 38, Director of Operational Services at Mediqas Medical Services, has been involved with the night time economy set up for many years, previously providing medical care inside Code nightclub. He said his favourite part about Safe Square is working together with like-minded people and believes you should treat everyone as your own family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve even struck up a bond with some of the homeless people on West Street. They\u2019ll come and have a chat, and we\u2019ll have a laugh and a joke with them. We collaborate with everybody to make Sheffield a safer place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dean started working as a builder but joined St. John\u2019s ambulance service aged 23 after saving his dad\u2019s life using CPR. He believes more men would benefit from reaching out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrary to popular belief, the Safe Square found an even split between men and women seeking support, with 52.4% being male and 47.6% female.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dean said: \u201cI think men don\u2019t have the support network women have when they go out. Women tend to stick together and look after each other, I think men have an attitude of wanting to look after themselves, but actually they probably can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mediqas have attended three stabbing incidents and a pedestrian-car collision, and can often reach people quicker than the ambulance or police. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can deal with the majority of medical emergencies or injuries on site, without having to add an extra strain on A&E and the police,\u201d said Dean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kayleigh said Safe Square have saved the police an average of 12% on their shift times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur main goal was never to save the NHS or police money, it was about making the people of Sheffield feel safe in the city centre. That\u2019s just an additional bonus\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, Kayleigh would like to see a permanent funding model put in place and run for the whole year, including student nights on Wednesdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a long-term goal, I\u2019d like the project to be bigger than just the few of us that are doing it now, and for there to be enough need that it becomes someone\u2019s job. My ultimate goal is that no city needs anything like it, but you\u2019ve got to be realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kayleigh\u2019s petition for the project has received 789 signatures so far. She hopes this support will help secure the financial future of Safe Square when budgets are released in April next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sheffield\u2019s \u201csafe haven\u201d is returning this festive period after receiving vital funding to offer people peace of mind at night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":69185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1900,9,338],"class_list":["post-69175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-clubs","tag-sheffield","tag-south-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n