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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Call to boost runaways support | Call to boost runaways support |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A coalition of charities is urging the government to set up a national support network for young people who run away. | A coalition of charities is urging the government to set up a national support network for young people who run away. |
| MPs are being asked to sign a petition in the shape of a giant running shoe, representing the estimated 140,000 under-18s who go missing each year. | MPs are being asked to sign a petition in the shape of a giant running shoe, representing the estimated 140,000 under-18s who go missing each year. |
| Specialists are to give evidence at a series of Parliamentary hearings to highlight the problems runaways face. | Specialists are to give evidence at a series of Parliamentary hearings to highlight the problems runaways face. |
| The Children's Society said it should be recognised that a teenager facing a night on the streets was a high risk. | The Children's Society said it should be recognised that a teenager facing a night on the streets was a high risk. |
| Kathy Evans, policy director at the Children's Society, said some local services were in place but it was nowhere near a national safety net. | Kathy Evans, policy director at the Children's Society, said some local services were in place but it was nowhere near a national safety net. |
| When you run away, it's hard to trust people Jessica Lee, former runaway | When you run away, it's hard to trust people Jessica Lee, former runaway |
| She told BBC Breakfast there needed to be local services, a national helpline and a look at the way police respond when a child is reported missing and what happens when they are found. | |
| Jessica Lee, who ran away from home at 13, told the programme she did not know who to turn to for help. | Jessica Lee, who ran away from home at 13, told the programme she did not know who to turn to for help. |
| "Things were really difficult at home so I ran away," she said. | "Things were really difficult at home so I ran away," she said. |
| For three months, she stayed with her dad who she met for the first time, friends, sometimes strangers and even spent one night on the street before she found help. | For three months, she stayed with her dad who she met for the first time, friends, sometimes strangers and even spent one night on the street before she found help. |
| "It got to the point where it became an addiction to me," she said. | "It got to the point where it became an addiction to me," she said. |
| "For me, social services, and anyone in authority, was the enemy. But I found out about a Children's Society project in Devon. They built the trust up with me. When you run away, it's hard to trust people." | "For me, social services, and anyone in authority, was the enemy. But I found out about a Children's Society project in Devon. They built the trust up with me. When you run away, it's hard to trust people." |
| 'Life-saver service' | 'Life-saver service' |
| Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Missing People, said the issue of missing people often slipped through the cracks and off the public agenda. | Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Missing People, said the issue of missing people often slipped through the cracks and off the public agenda. |
| "The national infrastructure to safeguard runaways and missing children at the moment is, in actual fact, fairly small, which might come as a surprise to most people," he said. | "The national infrastructure to safeguard runaways and missing children at the moment is, in actual fact, fairly small, which might come as a surprise to most people," he said. |
| In some cases, things were so bad for these children that it led to fatalities, he said. | In some cases, things were so bad for these children that it led to fatalities, he said. |
| "We've really got to put it in front of the public agenda for our MPs...that the runaway helpline, the national service we offer, is actually a life-saver service." | "We've really got to put it in front of the public agenda for our MPs...that the runaway helpline, the national service we offer, is actually a life-saver service." |