This is the saddest "cuts" story I've read to date.

[perfectstorm]

Those poor girls, and their poor babies. And in the general scheme of things the money is peanuts.

I know things are tough, but we're the 4th largest economy in the world (and I can't see how privatising the NHS is going to save money long-term, either - hardly like the US model is any kind of advert for cost-effectiveness). I just can't believe we're abandoning the most vulnerable in society as we are.

this fucking country is going to shit

USA mkII

making rich people even richer of the back of poor people

it make me want to puke up my own arsehole

tory fucking scum

If anyone says "We're in a recession" I'll clock them one.

Its shit.

YANBU.

This is so sad. How much do they need to survive? Can they not try corporate and private donations?

That's so sad.

Yanbu.

All the pomp being waved around for the jubilee looks a bit hollow to me with this going on.

Less so the Olympics, as I believe sport is a fantastic escape for many youngsters from challenging backgrounds, although the astronomical sums make running places like thus look insignificant.

These people are not victims of tough times. They are victims of political ideology.

The abolishion of this service isn't going to save money. But it will look like it does. In the medium (never mind the long) term it is going to cost money. Worse than that it will cost lives.

they won't save money shutting this; there'll be more prisoners, more children in care and less tax paying, socially functioning adults around.... Yeah, real money saver there

Politicians need to live in the real world before being allowed to run the damn country

How horrendous. And if the article wasn't written, we wouldn't even know about it - again, those who most desperately need a voice are those who are the most invisible.

I was approached last year on the street when walking with then-2yo DS in his pushchair by a homeless woman asking for change, apologetically explaining it was for drink, she knew she shouldn't, but... She seemed quite with it, she smiled at DS in his pushchair and enquired after his age. Said she had four children, one a little boy who would bethe same age as him, but he'd been adopted.

The next time I saw her she was completely out of it wandering along making the motions of smoking a cigarette which she didn't seem to notice she didn't have. Poor woman :( I will never forget her. I gave her the change, by the way. She seemed more in need of it than me.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/apr/17/prostitution-human-trafficking?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Life gets harder for women who have been victims of trafficking too. The money for this project was also a drop in the ocean. The slave trade is now larger worldwide than it ever was before it's official "abolition".

For me a civilisation should be judge by how it treats it's weakest members. Right now we are able to give "welfare bonuses" to nationalised bankers (how can a company that owes the tax payer so much even consider awarding huge bonuses until the taxpayer has been repaid?) yet our most vunerable whether they be abused women and children, the old or the disabled must are being left to rot?

As a nation our ethics seem topsy turvy.

Do people have any idea how much drug addicted people with children in care cost? This is a cheap, cheap way of helping ALL of us.

Unfortunately cuts like this are happening all over the charity sector. For poster suggesting donations - private donations for "unpopular" causes like this are very hard to get. And my experience of corporate donations is that they like to fund tear jerker charities such as children's hospices or ones that provide good photos/pr such as children's activities.

Generally the services provided by charities for most unpopular causes are funded by lottery or some type of governmental agency. And funding from govt is disappearing fast.

My lovely, lovely people, shall someone who's been here longer start a fundraising thread for this? Shall Mumsnet sponsor this place, and campaign for it, and get the Fawcett society, and NCT, and La Leche et al, to fund this place? Or will we all complain about it, and raise up other equally deserving causes, and do nowt?

Before anyone shouts at me, I know we shouldn't have to do the work of the state, I know we shouldn't be living in Victorian times, but we are. Just saying.

there is a whole kquestion around how you measure this kind of stuff - people in the third sector - charities - volutnary - will know what i mean. by demonstrating that a service is provided you are therefore saving money in another service that links.

it is short sighted, the chances are without investment and support the mums will go back to drugs and crime and associated behaviours and their children are more likley to repeat the cycle.

social services are probab;ly going to get involved, the NHS and GP services - nurses, lab techs, ambulance drivers, porters, cleaners - are all things that cost money

money that is being saved by putting support systems in place.

This isn't saving money, anyone who knows a little about the sectors talked about knows this is NOT THE CASE

this is a direct attack on poor people. Cameron is simply decimating services provided to the vulnerable.

those without a voice and those who are not empowered enought to vote - or politically aware enough to realise the worth of their vote.

at this point i think we realise that certain ministers are simply inventing policy and strategy based on fuck all supporting data to ensure they are considered more important within the cabinet.

we've done it now Britain. they are fucking with the ?NHS and Disability.

anything good which made up this country, any supporting services in any way are screwed.

kleptronic - good idea - why don't you start it - I'll donate

Wtf I am gob smacked, how is this going to save money

Look at the NSPCC thread. Why can't the NSPCC help these babies, on the front line with the public's cash, rather than waffle on about 'raising awareness' and with yet more advertising asking for donations?

Spend the money on actual babies, NSPCC.

Excellent, then there were 2.

FFS. This is so upsetting.

Also I disagree that hosting the olympics is worthwhile. There is evidence to show (from the sydney olympics and others) that hosting big sporting events makes fuck all difference to sports participation past the actual few weeks it is on. They are already planning who to sell the buildings on to so there is not going to be much facilities legacy (and certainly not much for everyday folk). So screw the olympics and support people trying to get out of sex work and drugs!

I'll donate as well

is it up ? I cant find it?

Kleptronic get MNHQ to advise you maybe they could start one of their fab campaigns.

Can't help financially but can write emails/letters/do a fundraiser?

This has made me weep.

So will I £10 - more if I can.

If we could get everyone on mn to donate bet we could keep Naomi House open for at least another 6-12 months.

If there wasn't enough then we could decide to give the fund elsewhere.

"My lovely, lovely people, shall someone who's been here longer start a fundraising thread for this? Shall Mumsnet sponsor this place, and campaign for it, and get the Fawcett society, and NCT, and La Leche et al, to fund this place? Or will we all complain about it, and raise up other equally deserving causes, and do nowt?

Before anyone shouts at me, I know we shouldn't have to do the work of the state, I know we shouldn't be living in Victorian times, but we are. Just saying."

Oh please, please, please do? This seems so clearcut - it's not cost-effective because care from the state costs a fortune and the state can't usually get babies adopted without at least giving their mothers a chance to reform. The mothers will end up costing more if they are grieving lost babies on top of existing problems, and without the incentive to turn their lives around. Custy can go through it all and has. And surely it's a nicem small, savably sized project, not something huge and faceless. God, Mumsnet kicked up a storm over Riven, could we not try over this? I just couldn't believe what I was reading; 10 of 18 of their clients are bringing up their own children. That's an extraordinarily high success rate. And the human cost of this - just unspeakable. And Mumsnet has a lot of members. If everyone who could afford to donated a bit, surely we could raise at least some of what they'd need to stay open a little longer?

Anyone Mumsnet Famous willing to head a thread up/contact the place and ask if we can start a Just Giving page/contact journalists here or who they know who might make some noise?

Those poor women, and their poor babies. And the intervention begins in pregnancy, too - how many babies will be avoidably harmed by maternal addiction if there isn't support in quitting in pregnancy? It's unbelievable. I can't imagine the cost to the state of a crack baby is low. It isn't just morally abhorrent, it's economically crazy, too.

This is the address of the organisation who run it:

one25
The Grosvenor Centre,
138a Grosvenor Road,
St. Pauls, Bristol, BS2 8YA
Tel: 0117 909 8832
Fax: 0117 941 2382
Email: [email protected]

Actually they have an article elsewhere with a specific named contact.

I know it's pathetic, but that article almost had me weeping. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in those women's position. And I can't believe we live in a country doing as it is, right now - and with Lib Dem support, no less!

I voted Lib Dem. That's one of the things that sticks in my gullet when I read things like this. Never, ever again.