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MNHQ

Oh go on, please talk to us about runaway kids: Aviva will donate £2 to the charity Railway Children for every post!

7 replies

FrancesMumsnet · 03/10/2012 15:35

Did you know that it's thought that one child runs away from home or care every five minutes in the UK?

To help raise awareness, the charity Railway Children is working with Aviva to provide help and support to children who have run away from home, or are at risk of doing so.

They've also helped us to build some pages on why children run away and how to spot the warning signs.

What they would like now is to hear your thoughts. Do you have any experiences to share - either as a parent or maybe from your memories as a child? Do you have any thoughts on the issue in general - about public awareness and support for the work of the Railway Children, for example? Do you think most parents just assume this isn't a problem they'll likely have to deal with?

Do please come and add your thoughts here. For every contribution to the discussion, Aviva will donate £2 to the Railway Children. You can post a maximum of 3 times per thread.

Aviva will donate up to £100,000 between now and the end of 2012 as part of the Mumsnet campaign, and there's a few other ways you can donate more money.

(SURVEY NOW CLOSED) They'll also donate £2 for every person that completes this survey. Everyone who takes part and adds their details at the end will also be entered into a prize draw to win VIP rugby tickets (for a family of 4) to attend the Aviva Premiership Final in May at Twickenham, courtesy of Aviva (these can be passed on to family or friends if you win but are unable to attend).

And £2 for everyone who 'likes' and recommends this thread on Facebook (by clicking 'Recommend' at the top) and if you 'like' any of the articles here.

Do please join in and help that money stack up!

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MNHQ

OliviaPeaceAndLoveMumsnet · 03/10/2012 21:43

@UntamedShrew

Two shiny pounds, you say? does this count?

No. Sorry Grin
Donations will only count for posts about running away, please.
BUT if you'd like a super easy way to donate, just clicking 'recommend' will also donate two incredibly shiny pounds.

Sorry not to be clearer.
Thanks
MNHQ

MNHQ

OliviaPeaceAndLoveMumsnet · 03/10/2012 22:33

@nextphase

I too didn't realise that number of kids ran away - but what is counted as running away? I still remember my little brother disappearing for a couple of hours one afternoon, probably aged about 5. He was in the garage attic. Did he run away? Or are we talking kids who disappear for a few days, and the police are involved?

Actually, thinking about that, the neighbours kid, and her mate from up the road disappearing fora few days. The police were involved at that point, but they hadn't gone far, and I saw them wandering down the road on about day 3, and told school that morning, when they were promptly found. Don't know why I didn't tell my parents there and then!

Hi NextPhase
On the survey Aviva point out that "'Running away from home' is defined by the charity Railway Children as a child spending one night or more away from home without parental permission. "

Hope this helps

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 05/10/2012 16:26

Hello. Thanks so much for all your posts so far.

Aviva/Railway Children have asked us to come back with some info in relation to the points raised by gazzalw earlier in the thread.

You can find detail on the characteristics of runaways and the geographical variations in their hometowns in The Children's Society 2011 report, Still Running 3.

And you can read a report about the Railway Children's research into the situations experienced by children who'd been living on the streets for four weeks or longer.

Hope that's helpful Smile

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 22/10/2012 14:50

Thank you noidles!

Yes, do please add some more posts to this thread. Remember: each post about your experience of/thoughts about will rack up another £2 for Railway Children, thanks to Aviva.

MNHQ

RebeccaMumsnet · 26/10/2012 17:18

Hi all,

Just a quick up date and a reminder that every single time you get involved in this campaign Aviva are donating £2 to Railway Children.

So far you've you've raised a whopping £15,056 Thanks

And here's how:

There were 232 relevant contributions to discussions

1,030 people completed the survey

1,418 users spent more than 90 seconds on the discussion threads

4,535 users spent more than 90 seconds looking at Railway content

There were 126 tweets/facebook shares

187 people signed up to the panel

Thank you all so so much this money will go a long way to help some very vulnerable young people and here's how

BUT YOU CAN STILL HELP Aviva still have buckets more money to donate, so here are more ways to get involved Tell you friends, share on FB and drag folks over to this thread.

Thanks
MNHQ

RowanMumsnet · 13/11/2012 15:09

Hello

We've had the following response from Railway Children in answer to the question about what you should do if you find a runaway child:

*

Thanks, SuiGeneris, this is a really good question.

As you might expect, there's no one simple answer, as there are so many different situations/circumstances which could have caused a child to run away. Every case is different, and must be treated individually, dependent up on the circumstances. Should you find yourself in this situation, we would urge you consider the following in order to help you decide what to do next:

a) Is the young person in danger? If so, the adult should call either the police or social care ? your local social care duty team phone number can be found on your council website. However, bear in mind that this could cause a negative reaction from the young person, dependent on their circumstances. Many young people who have run away from home often seek to avoid being part of the 'system', and so if they're not in immediate danger, there may be other ways to offer them help and support.

b) If the young person would be open to receiving support and advice from a neutral source, encourage them to contact ChildLine (0800 1111) or Missing People (020 8392 4590).

Be careful to consider how well you know the young person ? if you know them personally, they're perhaps more likely to take advice from you. Be careful to stop and think ? are you making assumptions that the young person is running away from home, or do you know this to be the case? Be careful not to be seen to be judging them, as the young person may feel hurt by this.

The most important thing to do, is to help show them that there is support out there, and that they are not alone. Simply just being there and being able to talk ? or even just listen ? is often invaluable.

If you are worried about a teenager who could have run away, or could be thinking about it, have a look at our advice page for other practical tips from Mumsnetters.

*

MNHQ

LittleTownofBethleHelenMumsnet · 20/12/2012 16:05

@connorandmaddiesmom

I there any way i can get involved in this project eg volunteering in some way .

Hi connorandmaddiemom. How lovely of you. You could try looking at this page on the Railway Children's site.

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