WE are honorary local secretaries for The Children's Society. As one of the country's leading children's charities we have recently launched Safe And Sound - a national campaign to highlight the dangers facing runaways.
More than 100,000 children run away from home or care in the UK every year. A quarter of these are under 11 - some as young as six years old. Many young runaways are exposed to drug abuse, prostitution and violent crime.
Our research shows that 15,000 of these runaways are "thrown away" - forced to leave home by parents or carers before they are 16.
We are asking every political party to support Safe And Sound. This calls on local authorities to provide a manager with responsibility for young runaways and a plan to respond to their needs. We are also campaigning for a national network of safe places for under-16s who run away.
We should be grateful if the spokesmen of the main political parties in York could write to this newspaper and explain their policies to help young runaways. Which local councillors are in favour of our Safe And Sound campaign? For more information about the campaign they can visit: www.childrenssociety.org.uk/safeandsound or ring our action line on 0845 300 1128.
J H Luscombe,
Carrs Meadow, Escrick, York.
J A Prendergast,
Thorpe Street,
York.
Updated: 11:32 Monday, August 16, 2004
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