Home front for Dorset charity ReRun (From Bournemouth Echo)

Home front for Dorset charity ReRun

3:00pm Thursday 19th February 2009 in Search By Timothy John

“I FELT worthless and unwanted.” Sally, 15, was taken from her natural mother by social workers aged 13 after being ignored, hit, and told she was nothing. Rebelling against her stepmother’s boundaries, she became one of 1,200 children in Dorset to run away from home every year.

But a North Dorset charity has helped Sally turn her life around. She has returned to school to study for five GCSEs.

The Dorset Runaway’s Service, also known as ReRun, operates an “outreach” service from its Sturminster Newton headquarters.

“Dorset is idyllic if you’re an adult with a house, job, and car, but for young people reliant on parents for lifts to work or college, it can provide its own challenges,” said Crissy Creasy, a youth outreach worker.

Crissy has worked with ReRun since its inception, and is on call 24/7, describing her work as “a vocation, more than a job”.

“One of the young people I’ve helped went to stay with friends for a week, and when she returned, her parents were getting divorced and the family home put up for sale,” said Crissy.

Liaison with social services, the girl’s employer, and securing a grant from a charitable trust to get her moped through an MoT, were among the practical actions taken by Crissy.

Within six months of speaking to ReRun, more than 80 per cent of runaways have found jobs, or are in training or employment, and 70 per cent have found a permanent place to live.

Difficult family relationships are one of the main issues ReRun deals with. Since May, the charity has broadened its support to include parents.

“There are two sides to the problem of children running away from home. Parents can sometimes get to the point of feeling that they want to throw the child out if things get really bad,” said Gale Rowan, a former psychotherapist working with the mums and dads of runaways.

“Where the relationship has broken down completely, and the child is in foster care, or living in supported accommodation, it’s important to keep them in touch with their parents,” she added.

Funding for the charity comes from a variety of sources, including Dorset County Council, Dorset Primary Care Trust, and Dorset Police.

But ReRun’s vital service does not come cheaply. Six months of intensive support for one young person costs £1,500.

And with the charity’s institutional backers facing financial pressure, service director, Sarah Dummer-Wade, is keen to promote the benefits the charity brings to the whole community.

“We handle all referrals from missing persons under 19 for Dorset Police. A study by Lancashire Police in 2005 put the cost to police of a missing person’s report at £1,000.

We are also able to prevent children from going into care. The saving to the social services department for even one child is substantial,” said Sarah.

In recent years, the charity has quadrupled the contributions made by Dorset backers by attracting funding from charitable trusts, and firms like Sainsbury’s and Lloyds TSB.

“In four years, we have brought in over £400,000 to the county, but we can’t attract funding from charitable trusts without having local support in place,” said Sarah.

A new fundraising scheme to encourage local businesses to sponsor individuals is one many avenues being considered in the charity’s “tireless efforts” to attract finance.

Sponsors can be sure of backing a winner. Rerun was recently named Dorset charity of the year by the Dorset Business Association. And Sarah and her team were invited to Whitehall last year by secretary of state, Ed Balls, to help draw up guidelines for dealing with runaways and missing young people. Donations made through the charity’s website allows ReRun to claim back a further 28 per cent of the contribution in tax relief.

• For more information go to rerundorset.org