Terina Keene, chief executive of Railway Children, is lobbying government to increase funding for young runaway's refuges over concerns that future government cuts could threaten existing emergency refuge places for the 100,000 children under 16 who run away each year in the UK.
"Budgets are tight for everyone, but instead of straining the public purse, offering young runaways somewhere safe to stay will deliver big cost savings," Keene explained. "By working together and pooling resources, local areas can protect children from violence, drugs, sexual exploitation and sleeping rough on the streets."
Tracy Haycox, a spokeswoman for Safe@Last, a Railway Children-funded project in South Yorkshire, said: "We have helped thousands of young people, but we offer the only refuge beds outside of London for children under 16. Champions across local children's services and the police are needed to create more centres across the UK so every child at risk has somewhere safe to go."
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