Your support helped get Belle away from danger and back to school.
When we first started working with Belle* she was 13 and struggling with a range of difficult family issues.
“I was angry about my parents’ divorce, I was angry about the fact that I’d had to move and I didn’t want to, I was angry I was at a new school and had to leave all of my old friends behind.”
Soon Belle was skipping school and hanging around with a big group of people in her local park and one particular takeaway place. She became friends with an older girl who had her own flat, and started to experiment with drugs and talking to older men. Claire, Belle’s Barnardo’s case worker, told us:
“When Belle and I first started working together, she was spending time with a lot of people she didn’t know and drinking to the point of black-out. She hadn’t been to school for a year.
“Initially, we worked to unlock the cycle of drink and drugs Belle had been drawn into and that made her vulnerable to child sexual exploitation and abuse. Belle has managed to break away from that friendship group now, and we have been working together ever since to build her confidence and self worth."
It was having that one person I could trust who wouldn’t condescend me or make me feel bad about what I was doing – that helped me make better decisions.
Belle
Young person
Belle said: “I go to school now. I’m not just sat at the end of the road drinking and waiting for people to come out. I get along with my mum, which is really nice. It was having that one person I could trust who wouldn’t talk down to me or make me feel bad about what I was doing, and would help me make better decisions.”
Three years later, this smart and resilient young woman has a brighter future, thanks to Claire’s dedication and the support of kind people like you. Your generosity allows case workers like Claire to work with children like Belle for as long as they need.
Thanks to you, children who are lonely and isolated have a trusted ally to talk to. Someone who will take their hand, and not let go.
*Belle’s name has been changed and a model has been used to protect her identity.
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For every £1 we spend, approximately 92p goes on working with children and young people, 3p on governance and pension costs and the remaining 5p on raising the next £1. When Barnardo’s was founded 152 years ago, our vision was of a world where no child in need was turned away. In 2020-21, we worked with 382,872 children, young people, parents and carers through our 791 services and partnerships across the UK.