VP Wellbeing & Diversity Alice Goode caught up with Poppy and Jordan from our Good Night Out Crew to find out how they support students on a night out in our venues.
Alice Goode
VP Wellbeing and Diversity
Did you know, we have a Good Night Out Crew as part of our work around student safety?
You’ll see them wearing pink hi-vis jackets on a night out and their role is to ensure students have the support they need when attending evening events at the Union Venue and Medicine.
Whether this is mental health-related, physical injury, or as simple as helping them access lost property, finding the right queue or bringing up a complaint, the Good Night Out Crew are there to support you!
All staff are Mental Health First Aid trained to engage in open discussion, recognise triggers and signpost to the relevant support services both within the College and SU, as well as external services.
We love our Good Night Out Crew and you should too! I caught up with Poppy and Jordan to ask them a few questions about what it’s like to be a member of the crew.
What does an average shift look like?
Poppy: There are two shifts for an SU night but only one for Medicine (due to the venue requiring less set up and closing earlier). The earlier SU shift starts before the event and involves getting the outside of the venue ready for the night by setting up the fences. We then are responsible for letting students into the venue by checking IDs and keeping track of numbers inside to ensure a fun and safe event. The later shift is for welfare, where we wear pink hi-vis vests so that it is easy for students to see us. During this shift, we are there to ensure that all the students have a good night out and are safe and happy in the venue. Medicine shifts are similar but with most of the shifts happening at the same time, some of us are focused on welfare and others will be checking IDs at the door.
Jordan: I start at 8pm and set up the fences, gazebos and the queuing system. Once the SU opens, as a shift supervisor I check the numbers, make sure the queuing system is going ok and ensure that everyone working is happy and knows what they’re doing. After that I make sure that there aren’t any health and safety hazards and that the people inside are all safe and having a good time. My job is to supervise the event from a welfare and security point of view.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
Poppy: My favourite part of the job is definitely the people! I’ve always been an extrovert and I love the opportunity to talk to so many people in one shift. Event Support are a small team that work closely with the other student teams in the SU, so we all have to get on well for a night out to run smoothly. I also love talking to the people who are on a night out and I find it very rewarding when I am able to help fellow students.
Jordan: My favourite part is looking behind me and seeing everyone having a good night and everything going smoothly!
Why did you apply for the role?
Poppy: I wanted to work for the SU as working with and for students really appealed to me. When the Event Support role came up it was not something I had thought about before, but as soon as I read the job description, I knew it would suit me perfectly. It also sounded challenging and I liked the range of different roles within one job.
Jordan: I originally started working at the Union Shop and then I transferred over and trained to be a member of the Good Night Out Crew. What appealed to me about the job was being able to help people out. I really enjoy working in hospitality so this role was great for that, and hopefully it will be useful in my career as I’ve applied to be a detective.
What would you say to students on a night out who need some wellbeing support, but are unsure of where to get help?
Poppy: Look for neon pink! If we’re in a pink vest, our sole job is to make sure that the students in the venue are safe and happy, feel free to approach us if you need us. If you can’t see anyone around, head to the big pink tent at the entrance to the venue and there will always be people around to help you out.
Jordan: We have welfare staff (who are different to security staff members) going around the SU in pink hi-vis vests, so anybody can go up to them to get help. If you can’t find any pink hi-vis, then anyone in orange or yellow hi-vis will be able to help. They will have a radio and will be able to call over a welfare trained member of staff to help. Basically, look for anyone in hi-vis and they can help! There’s also no reason to be scared of us – we’re there to make sure you have a good night and that’s it, we’re completely separate to security. So when we take you for a welfare check or come and talk to you, it’s nothing to be worried about. We just want to make sure that you’re ok, so please trust that we will look after you and that we have your best interests at heart.