I received an interesting email earlier, telling me about a new campaign that has just been launched to get the plight of Britain's street kids into the public eye.
In the words of the lovely Jem, who sent me the email : "The campaign is to secure 100,000 signatures on a petition for street children in the UK, so we can get the issue in front of the policy makers. My task is to get those 100,000 signatures. ‘Change the story’ is simply a campaign which is dedicated to raising awareness of the problem, encouraging people to sign the petition and then spread the word about it.
I don’t know if you know, but there are over 100,000 street children in the UK and there are only 5 refuge beds for children !
Not only that, 1 in 9 children will run away from care or home before they’re 16 – so in an average children’s class at school, at least a few of their classmates will become that desperate.
The worse thing is, 1 in 6 children on the streets are sexually abused and almost all of them either use drugs or drink alcohol. And there’s just no support for them. Charities like Railway Children are trying to do what they can, but, without the awareness, are hugely under-resourced. Which is exactly why we need to get 100,000 signatures so we can get it in front of the people who make the policies and get them to recognise the problem.
The whole cause is not promoting companies or organisations, it’s literally just about reaching the goal and trying to change the story for kids on the UK streets."
Visit http://www.changethestory.co.uk/ for more information or follow their tweets @changethestory_
They curently need 99,944 signatures to reach their target so every name on the list will help them get one step closer. As a parent, I can't help but think it's a truly worthwhile cause.
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
Having a child myself now this breaks my heart - I will sign the petition.
ReplyDelete