With an estimated 86, 000 children and young people that run away from home each year, national youth work charity, UK Youth welcomes the Government’s new initiative to give more support to young runaways.
“If I’d had someone to talk to, when things got bad I might not have ended up sleeping rough.” Ellie,15
The aim is to target young people who are in a vulnerable position and to offer support and guidance to them, so that they do not get into the position where they want to run away.
UK Youth supports over 750, 000 young people through our network of youth groups, clubs and projects. UK Youth helps young people to take control of their lives and make better choices for their future.
Young Devon, a member association within UK Youth’s network, currently runs 11 projects, supporting up to 200 young homeless people a night. In conjunction with this, Young Devon also offer various types of refuge, including 100 trained support workers across the county for young runaways.
Young Devon focus on preventing young people from becoming homeless and supporting those young people that are homeless.
The new cross-Government Working Group will consist of representatives from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF), Home Office, Dept of Health, National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), Association of Chief Police Officers, Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and the voluntary sector.
