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On the afternoon of 3 July, 24 properties in Croydon were evacuated after a youth was stabbed and killed within a block of flats. Four volunteers raced to a nearby rest centre to provide support to 16 people, including several young children.
Emotional support
Kieran Smith, emergency planning officer, said: “The evacuees included two people – one of them a 17-year-old– who had actually found the victim outside their front door, and they were both extremely shaken. The young man, in particular, was very distressed and our volunteers sat talking with him for a couple of hours.”
Kieran added: “When the police allowed families back to their homes later that evening, we provided transport for the families. Although the forensics team had finished, the crime scene hadn’t yet been cleaned so we carefully escorted them right back to their homes, making sure the children didn’t see anything that might upset them.”
Overnight evacuation
In an earlier incident (1 July), 35 people sought refuge at a Walworth rest centre after a man was fatally stabbed in a street, leading police to evacuate homes in a bid to protect evidence as they launched an investigation.
Seven Red Cross volunteers were deployed to help run the rest centre and provide practical and emotional support to families who had to leave their homes for the night. Several families with young children were re-housed in hotel accommodation, and volunteers provided blankets and hygiene packs to 18 individuals who stayed overnight at the centre.
Looking back at the two incidents, Kieran said: “After distressing incidents such as these, we are there to reassure people and help make them as comfortable as possible. We help people in any way we can by providing information, giving out blankets and toiletries and making hot drinks. At times like these, many people just want to sit and talk.“
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