Platform 51

News

Categories: crime, abuse and offending, general, poverty, regional news: north of England
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Urgent appeal: help a girl in care

Girls in care are easy prey for unscrupulous men

Girls who are looked after in care are incredibly vulnerable. The facts are bleak:

• 60% of girls in care have contemplated suicide; 40% made at least one attempt
• Girls in care are twice as likely to be cautioned or convicted as other girls
• 25% of all girls leaving care are pregnant or already mothers

With no family network to support them and with cripplingly low-self-esteem, they are easy prey for unscrupulous men. The majority of girls in care have suffered violence or abuse; they think it's normal and they deserve it.

Doncaster is a city blighted by very high levels of children in care: 72 children in 1,000 compared to the national average of 54/ 1,000. Our Powerpuff project for girls in care in Doncaster urgently needs your support. Our Local Authority funding has been cut and we need to raise £60,000 to run this life-changing project. The girls in Doncaster badly need our help, support and protection right now. Please help us today. For some girls, the Powerpuff project was the closest they ever had to a real, caring family.

Read more about how you donation can help. Can you become a Platform 51 Friend and sponsor a girl?  

Your generosity will changes lives right now. Take it from Emily*, aged 13:

"I went into care when I was 4. My mum was a prostitute. I can remember men coming to the house. I had not met any of my family since I left and I felt sad and upset about it. I am really glad I went to the Powerpuff Girls project because I always have someone to talk to. Now I am going to try harder at everything. I love going to Platform 51 we do loads of great stuff. Once we went to London ... and it was the best day of my life."

Please give as much as you can.

*Not her real name.