"If it hadn't been for this scheme, Sophie may have ended up dead on the street somewhere," says Debra Stanford, who left her husband after years of violent abuse but moved from one nightmare to another. Her 13-year-old daughter had become a problem child, causing massive stress within the family. "Sophie was very violent and aggressive to her brothers, always getting in trouble at school; she had begun harming herself and was running away from home.
I was at my wits' end and really close to putting her into care." Fortunately, a unique family-centred project was being piloted in Warrington, where the Stanfords live. Don't Walk, as it is known, initially was funded by the government's Invest to Save budget (ISB), a joint Treasury and Cabinet Office initiative designed to help pioneering new projects work with public services in a more coherent way.
Locally based charity the Relationships Centre was leading the scheme, but it became obvious that it needed the backing of the police. Alison McCausland, an officer with more than 20 years' experience, was seconded to the programme and became project manager. Having dealt with many runaways throughout her career and seen many end up in prison, she felt the new scheme couldn't come quickly enough.
For McCausland, it was a matter of common sense: "Children don't leave home if they are happy. If you find out why they are unhappy, help them sort out the issues, they will stop running away." It is estimated that around 100,000 young people run away each year due to problems at home or school such as neglect, abuse, or violence.
One in nine teenagers in the UK will run away overnight before the age of 16, and a high proportion will become involved in crime. Research from charity the Children's Society reveals that many of these youngsters will face immediate danger. Some 90% of young people on the streets end up taking some form of drugs, and as many as 5,000 underage girls are sexually exploited through prostitution.
Runaways, or those on the verge of running, can become involved with the Talk Don't Walk project through a variety of sources. Schools or social services can make referrals, friends or family may recommend, or clients may come on their own initiative. They are representative of a broad social spectrum, reflecting the fact that every family, regardless of status, can have problems.
Sophie Stanford was becoming known to the police in the town, and it was Alison McCausland who threw the lifeline to her mother. The project provided separate caseworkers for mother and daughter, which Debra believes was crucial. "My needs were different from Sophie's, and once they had been met I could concentrate more on helping my daughter," she says.
Debra believes the caseworker performed miracles with Sophie, talking, listening and getting to the root of her problems. But the project isn't just about counselling, it is also highly practical. Because of its multi-agency approach it can tap into the resources of many different bodies, both in the public and private sector.
Families often need a variety of different interventions, from psychologists to drink or drugs advisers. The project caseworkers can ensure this specialist help is accessed, while continuing to support the family. McCausland believes this is evidence of joined-up thinking and gets services to work together in a less piecemeal fashion.
"Previously, families with problems may have been handed from one body to another, each dealing separately. This project provides the crucial link." In the Stanfords' case, workers contacted the local education authority and helped Sophie move to a new school, where the teenager was much happier.
The Stanford family aren't the only ones with cause for celebration. Figures produced following a three-year evaluation of Talk Don't Walk prove impressive. When it started there were 1,235 reported runaways in the Warrington area; by 2006 this had been reduced to just 297.
Cutting the numbers of runaways also has a huge impact on the crime and social care budget, with local authority savings reportedly in the region of 3m. The chief constable of Cheshire, Peter Fahy, has fully endorsed the scheme, which he says has beaten all of its measurable targets. "Running away is often the first step towards a life of crime, and there is no doubt that young people who do this are more likely to get involved in crime, substance abuse and sexual abuse.
By addressing the problem at its root cause, children are taken out of the criminal justice system who otherwise would have been impacted for life." The project is unique to Warrington but, with the appropriate funding and resources, could be replicated. The Relationships Centre is currently creating a basic "toolkit" that could be used elsewhere in the UK.
Helen Southworth, the Labour MP for Warrington South and chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group on runaway and missing children, has been involved with the project since its inception and hopes to see it rolled out across the country. She says: "Talk Don't Walk provides a crucial local service and identifies good practice with a national significance. These results show the huge impact of the project, providing vulnerable children and young people an alternative to the dangerous strategy of running away.
" Three years on, Debra Stanford has nothing but praise for the project and hopes other families will one day be able to benefit as she did. "If it hadn't been for this scheme one of us would have gone under. Because of the help they received, Debra believes her daughter's future is much brighter.
Sophie now has a full-time job and her own flat, and the once troubled youngster in danger of a life on the streets is now just a bad memory. Sophie and Debra's names have been changed. Printable version | Send it to a friend | Save story Join our dating site today SocietyGuardian.
co.uk Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 "If it hadn't been for this scheme, Sophie may have ended up dead on the street somewhere," says Debra Stanford, who left her husband after years of violent abuse but moved from one nightmare to another.
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