25 September 2024
MP Mike Amesbury has visited WithYou’s Missing From Home Service, which supports under 18s who go missing from home and care across Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington, and Halton.
WithYou caseworkers complete Return Home Interviews with children and young people to understand their stories, the reasons they go missing, and what needs to change to help prevent it happening again. Many of the children they support have experienced a range of traumas and may be distrusting of authority figures. As an independent charity, separate from the police or social care, WithYou’s caseworkers listen to the young person and act as their voice when working with other professionals to inform safety planning, ensuring what they have to say is heard.
Mike Amesbury, MP for Runcorn and Helsby, says:
“It was great to meet the team from With You's Missing from Home Service who are doing some excellent work with local children and young people at risk as well as their families and carers.
“Most youngsters who go missing have complex needs and vulnerabilities, with many having sadly experienced trauma. The disruption caused by the Covid pandemic has undoubtedly also had an adverse impact on the mental health of our youngest generation.
“I was really impressed, especially by the caseworkers who spoke in terms of their enthusiasm, skills and knowledge – and the positive impact the service is having in helping to keep our young people safe.”
In 2023/24 the Missing From Home Service saw 1664 individual children and young people. They worked closely with children, their parents or carers, schools, the police, children’s social care services, residential placements and other young people services. They also delivered Direct Work interventions on relationships, mental health, drugs and alcohol, personal safety, exploitation, online safety, anger management.
Nikki Thorne, Cheshire Tri-Party Missing From Home Service Manager, said:
“It was so important to be able to talk to Mike about the vital work we do in the Missing From Home Service.
“Many of the children and young people we work with are traumatised by experiences that no-one their age should ever have to go through. It can be hard for them to make themselves heard, and some of them may never have felt listened to before. Our specialist caseworkers support them with information and advice to help them keep safe, giving them the confidence to have a voice, and advocating for them in settings with other professionals.”
It’s vital that everyone knows what to do if someone goes missing. You don’t have to wait 24 hours to make a report. If you suspect that a child is missing, contact the police as soon as you have done as much as possible to find them. If a young person or child is in immediate danger, or risk of harm - call 999 now.