What We Do in The UK
Did you know?
- 100,000 children under the age of sixteen run away from home or care every year in the UK.*
- 1 in 12 young runaways are hurt or harmed while they are away*
- 1 in 6 young runaways sleep rough. *
- There are only 11 safe refuge beds for runaway children in the whole of the UK.
* Children’s Society; ‘Still Running’ 2005
Children run away because of violence, family breakdown, abuse, neglect and feeling unwanted. Whilst on the street, they face hunger, violence, drug use, sexual exploitation and in some cases death.
Why we’re involved in the UK…
Railway Children recognised a lack of front line services for children who run away and that the policy and guidance to safeguard these vulnerable children was not in place
Railway Children has a long history of ensuring young peoples voices are heard at government level. Through remaining independently funded, we ensure their messages and our learning are not compromised.
What we’re doing…
- We currently provide funding towards nine projects, working directly with runaways.
- We give funding to the projects that provide five of the eleven refuge beds.
- We Chair the English Coalition for Runaways (34 organisations concerned with runaways).
- We are a member of the national oversight group that oversee national task groups; developing new government guidance for runaways, local measurements and research into emergency accommodation.
- We act as the secretariat for the All Parliamentary Group for Runaways.
- We are carrying out research with the most detached young people in the UK.
