{"id":240391,"date":"2025-07-05T15:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/240391\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T15:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:22:15","slug":"app-to-find-safest-route-home-comes-to-northern-ireland-with-help-of-volunteer-group-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/240391\/","title":{"rendered":"App to find safest route home comes to Northern Ireland with help of volunteer group \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new app<\/a> showing users their safest route to walk home, complete with street lighting and CCTV coverage, has launched in the north with the help of a volunteer group<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The \u2018Safest Way\u2019 app was previously only available for users in London, however thanks to efforts from Derry-based group Inner City Assistance Team (ICAT)<\/a>, it now covers routes across the north. <\/p>\n

It allows users to plan the route home with the most street lighting and CCTV coverage as well as a \u2018safety score\u2019 for the area using data on crime rates and a built-in panic alarm feature. <\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>New fund launch aims to embody \u2018women supporting women\u2019 ethos<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"UVF<\/a>\"EA<\/a><\/p>\n

ICAT co-founder and coordinator Stephen Henry told The Irish News that the idea to bring the app to the city came as the group started looking for ways to help people feel safe after a series of attacks on women last autumn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MembersMembers of the ICAT volunteering team. PICTURE: FACEBOOK \/ INNER CITY ASSISTANCE TEAM <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a community volunteer group; we were looking for tools that may help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a few meetings [with Safest Way]; they designed the app for Derry and then the whole of Northern Ireland was brought in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think it could make an impact.<\/p>\n

While he admitted he hoped that the app wouldn\u2019t be needed, he said that it was one way of helping people feel safer. <\/p>\n

Mr Henry is one of a group of around 10 volunteers in the ICAT team, which patrols Derry\u2019s city centre during busy periods and overnight at the weekend.<\/p>\n

He said the group was set up at the end of 2020 after they witnessed some situations where people needed assistance. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe give people a point of contact if they are feeling vulnerable \u2013 it could be anything from getting a taxi home to something more serious, where our trained volunteers will help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all trained in mental health, first aid and suicide prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Safest Way app is currently available to download on iOS devices, with plans to add it to other platforms soon. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new app showing users their safest route to walk home, complete with street lighting and CCTV coverage,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[3562,5554,16767,1144,16,15,93469],"class_list":{"0":"post-240391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-app-store","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-derry","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-walk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114801314758361075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}