Charity wins regional award

A SCHEME introduced by a Warrington charity has won a North West Health and Social Care Award for its continued success across the region.
The Relationship Centre’s Talk…Don’t Walk campaign received the Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities award at a glitzy ceremony from Granada Tonight presenters Lucy Meacock and Tony Morris.
Since its launch in 2004, the campaign has seen a 76 per cent reduction in the number of young runaways in the Warrington area.
This has meant a saving of more than £3.1 million to local authorities.
Through curriculum based teaching packs and a dedicated helpline, the scheme has really taken off across the town.
The North West Health and Social Care Awards celebrate the successes, innovation and excellence of services right across the region.
Spokeswoman for the charity Marissa Hankinson, said: “It is great that we are getting recognition for the work that we are doing with young runaways. Over 86,000 children run away each year. If running away as a behaviour is left unchallenged it can lead to serious health problem, addictions, criminality, poor education, sexual exploitation and in some cases, even death.
“Initiatives such as Talk..Don’t Walk are incredibly important. The difference with us is that we provide an holistic service to the entire family unit to address the issue of why a young person would run away from home in the first instance.
“This success has really put us in the spotlight regionally and is one of the flagship projects in dealing with issue. A big congratulations goes to the team as well as all of our supporters and stakeholders too.”