About Us
Our operations
We aim to operate every Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 3am. On rare occasions we may not be operational due to circumstances beyond our control.
All staff and volunteers are linked to the unit by closed circuit radios. This allows volunteers and staff to communicate with each other privately when additional support or information is needed.
We also have a second set of radios linked to CCTV. These radios allow constant contact with CCTV, Norfolk Constabulary, and all licensed venues.
Do we accept referrals?
We accept referrals from:
· Members of the public
· Self-referrals
· Friends and Family
· Venues
· Norfolk constabulary
· CCTV
· Taxi driver/offices
· GP practices
Who funds us?
We are solely funded by the Integrated Care board. We are always looking for local community support to keep our services available and as many as we can for free.
Our impact
2022 – 2023
For the period of April 2022-March 2023, 24,562 interactions were made with the public, the interactions were offering preventative measures, first aid, homeless help, and sign posting.
Out of the 24,562 referrals to the SOS Bus only 310 of these service users needed more complex intervention.
16% of the referrals resulted in a referral to A&E, these were due to the client’s injury or illness being of too high needs and needing further medical intervention.
We provided a total of 250 food parcels to the vulnerable and families facing poverty due to the rising energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis. 238 of these parcels were provided through external funding. 12 food parcels were provided by the SOS, these were made up through donations.
We’re proud to say that
Out of the 310 clients in the year that required more complex intervention, we prevented 70% of those requiring medical intervention beyond leaving our services at that time. We did this through offering first aid at the point of need. 40% of clients needing more complex interventions were intoxicated through alcohol and or drugs.
We have signposted or made referrals to 436 other more suitable agencies; many clients needed referrals to more than one other agency.