For our first on-site welfare presence at a festival, we attended Leeds Festival in August 2023 to provide welfare and safeguarding support at our ‘Check-in and Chill’ tent. We collaborated with University of Leeds ran student society SSAFE who provide suicide awareness and support.

Together, we provided a place where festival goers could come to relax with us away from the buzz of the festival. Whilst checking in and chilling, guests were able to have conversations with us about their experiences of the night time economy and festivals, including disclosing incidents of spiking and sexual violence. Our ‘Check-in and Chill’ tent was also used as a safe place where people could find and meet lost friends.

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Open between 10am-10pm everyday, we had a range of activities available for festival goers to cure hangovers, chat about their nights or even wait for the shower queue to go down! The ‘Check-in and Chill’ tent had beanbags, stress and sensory toys, adult colouring activities and a team of passionate word gamers. We also provided snacks and good music.

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