London Refuge to stay open

We are pleased to be able to report that thanks to generous individuals and a consortium of organisations working with children, we are close to raising the funds needed to keep the Refuge open in 2007.

This is a wonderful accomplishment. Thank you very much to everyone who assisted in keeping the Refuge open by donating to us this winter and spring.

The Government is currently reviewing the services available to runaways under “Every Child Matters”, an agenda which in part looks at the different ways to prevent running away and provide for all runaway children (estimated at over 100,000). Whilst the Government seeks to identify the most appropriate response, then adopt and provide future services, current funding for the Refuge remains under threat.

Every year St Christopher’s raises about £200,000 from individual donors to support the Refuge and other important projects that lack statutory funding.

Without the generosity of our donors these projects would not exist. Currently, in addition to the Refuge, we are raising funding for our specialist small homes for very troubled young people. We are also attempting to underwrite our Go Fund, which allows our service users to apply for a special grant for critical expenses related to education, employment and move-in costs when moving from care into their own flat.

Your ongoing support of St Christopher’s will ensure these projects are able to flourish. Thank you.