Gary, aged 12, had only been at Bluebrick children’s home a short time.

“Jan”, he said to his keyworker, “what happens if you run off?”

“I’m not likely to do that”, replied Jan, playing dumb.

“Well, not you -of course I don’t mean staff. What happens if one of the kids runs off?”

“What would you expect to happen?” asked Jan, keen to get Gary to say what he really had on his mind.

“Well, I suppose you tell the cops and they put out a missing persons report, perhaps even get a helicopter out”.

“Go on”, encouraged Jan.

“Well, when they catch you, they bring you back here, and after a rest, you push off again”, laughed Gary.

“Who told you that?” said Jan, acting shocked.

“The others, Nickki and Dwain.”

“And are you thinking of running off?”“No. Not me. I’d be too scared”, lied Gary.

“As it happens”, Jan continued, “we do have something written about what we call ‘unauthorised absence’ and I’ve got a copy here, so let’s go through it together. It won’t take long.”

Unauthorised Absence We are pleased to have you come here to live with us at Bluebrick. This is to tell you what we mean by ‘Unauthorised Absence’ and what are the consequences. It means • running away, • going out without permission and • failing to return home on time. Running away We know that some young people have developed the habit of dealing with problems that upset them by running away. We also know that young people who run away often like to take someone along with them, perhaps another resident at Bluebrick who has just arrived and who has not run off before. Sometimes running off can also seem like a good way to have a bit of an adventure, especially if it makes people worried and wonder where you are and helicopters and police cars whizz about with torches and light beams scouring the streets looking for you. What Escape? Ok, it might be fun for five minutes, as you make your escape down the alleyway. But what escape? You are not in prison, so it’s no big deal to walk out of Bluebrick. Forget the helicopter. Yes, we will be worried about you and so will your family when we tell them, as we always do, unless there are special reasons for not doing so. And yes, we will report your absence to the police and they will usually visit your family to see if you are there, but there is not going to be a nation-wide hunt for you. Danger Where are you running to? Some young people are so impulsive when they run off they don’t even stop to think where they are going. Where can you go? To friends? Well, maybe for a visit, but not many families can simply let someone stay at their house, especially if they know where they should be. You could sleep in a doorway or an empty building but is that what you really want? And who are you likely to meet on the streets in the middle of the night? Other unhappy people or people with drug or alcohol problems? While on the run you are in danger of being drawn into the company of people who have serious personal problems or who may be a physical danger to you. Consequences We are always concerned when young people are absent without permission. When you return, whether it be that you bring yourself back or your family or the police return you, we will want to talk to you about why you were absent and what happened while you were out. We want to hear from you if there was some reason why you felt you needed to get away. For example • was someone bullying you? • has a particular member of staff upset you? • was there a problem at home you felt you needed to sort? • would you like to talk to someone from outside of the home, say your social worker or an independent person? Dealing with running away can be very time-consuming and means staff staying up late, making lots of phone calls etc. As a result of this, staff may decide to deduct some money from your pocket money if they consider you have no justified reason for being absent. Secure Accommodation If staff and your social worker consider that your frequent running away is placing you in real danger, they may go to Court to seek to have you placed for a limited time in secure accommodation for your own safety. Happy People We want you to feel relaxed and happy at Bluebrick. We want you to be able to trust the staff and get on well with the other young people living here at Bluebrick. We know from experience that this is the best way to make sure that you will not want or need to run away. We know that getting to this point may take a little time, and we will work with you to get there, but you must do your bit and be willing to ask for and accept help and advice. Summing Up • We realise some young people deal with worries and problems by running away. • We always report someone as being absent if they are not in by a reasonable time. • We normally always tell your family when this happens. • We will always welcome you back when you return or are returned. • We will always meet with you very soon after your return to talk about why you ran off and what happened when you did. • You may have to pay towards the cost of dealing with your absence. • Frequent placing of yourself in danger when absent may lead to your placement in Secure Accommodation. • What we want most is for you to feel so content and satisfied with life that you don’t feel the need to run off.

 

“Well Gary, what do you think of that lot?” asked Jan, as they finished their session.

“It’s a good job I can read”, replied Gary, “and it was worth knowing all this stuff so soon after I’ve arrived. It’s not what the other kids told me. So, OK, thanks for the message. Now I know what happens when kids run away. Here – who’s that off down the drive!?”

“Where?” said Jan, her head swivelling round to look out the window.

“April fool”, laughed Gary.