Up close with The Knife Angel – in Newark with St John Ambulance Young Responders Team
On Wednesday 13 May, our team went to Newark to meet up with Pauline Bartley and Irene Lafferty from St John Ambulance. Pauline is the person responsible for rolling out the charity’s well-established Young Responders programme, to young people in the East Midlands.
Earlier in 2026, we announced our largest grant ever, £241,807 over two years – would go to establishing Young Responders in the East Midlands. This donation, thanks to players of The Health Lottery, means young people in areas including Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire will have the opportunity to learn street first aid skills.
When we learnt the Knife Angel would be paying a visit to Newark in Nottinghamshire during May, it seemed the perfect location to meet up with the team from St John Ambulance to hear how the project, which covers responding to knife crime, is progressing.
Pauline told our Chief Executive, Delva Patman and Paul Davies, Operations Manager how the Young Responders training is delivered, highlighting the role virtual reality headsets play.
Pauline said,
“VR and immersive learning works particularly well for young people with limited mobility, neurodivergent groups and within prison settings. This combined with more ‘hands-on’ training gives participants loads of useful to help deal with any crisis first aid situations they might find themselves in.”
Nationally, since 2023, the Young Responders programme has supported approximately 82,000 young people.
As well exchanging information about the progress of the project we were fortunate enough to pay a visit to the hugely impressive Knife Angel, in the town square. That presented an opportunity to hear from local businesses about their investment in critical bleed kits across Newark. The impact of The Knife Angel cannot be underestimated.
Paul Davies our Operations Manager said,
“I was surprised by how poignant I found it. Seeing the volume of knives, which were all weapons seized by the police, really highlighted the scale of the issue of injuries inflicted by people carrying knives. In contrast to this I felt extremely positive after meeting the Young Responders team that the programme really can make a difference to young people in the East Midlands.”
It was a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with colleagues and the Knife Angel.
Delva Patman, CEO said,
“Thank you to Pauline and Irene from St John Ambulance for taking the time to meet us and tell us more about the project. We know there is a real need for this work and we look forward to visiting a training session later in the year.”
Read more about Young Responders on the St John Ambulance website.