Give our children a chance, say care team

Apr 30 2010 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

GIVE our children a chance.

That’s the message from a charity aiming to help youngsters in care get a second shot at life.

South Ayrshire Council holds the key to a new residential care unit which is proposed for Maybole.

They finish their public consultation exercise on the matter this week.

But while the subject has divided opinion, those who deal with the service users say the facility is much needed.

Who Cares? Scotland, a children’s rights organisation, is driving an anti-stigma campaign against public attitude towards children in care.

And they’re urging the people of Maybole to embrace a possible new-build unit which would offer hope and stability to youngsters.

Dawn Parker, regional manager for the charity, revealed: “There’s great potential for the unit to be established in Maybole and have the children integrating within the community.

“Too often, children in care are given a bad name when in actual fact, the majority are there because of reasons outwith their control.

“Being in care is not the bad thing that a lot of people seem to think. It’s something which is pre-judged and we just need to get better information out there.

“Children can constantly be moved around from home to home and find themselves going from one end of the country to the other. They need stability and units like this can offer it.”

Ayrshire children Lisa and Amy are just two kids who’ve been through the system and can’t speak highly enough of their experience.

Lisa insisted: “Being in care has given me so many more opportunities in life.

“You don’t walk about with a big sticker on your head that says you’re in care – it’s only when people find out that they seem to treat you differently.

“And they seem to think these units will look like jails, when really they’re just like normal houses.”

And Amy added: “The care service has been great for me and could benefit so many other young people.

“A place like Maybole would be good for it because you could walk down the street and feel part of the community. That’s really important.”

Heather Gray, chief executive of Who Cares? Scotland, said: “Young people who are looked after deserve to have the same opportunities as other children to realise their potential.

“South Ayrshire’s commitment to the new children’s houses recognises their commitment to some of the communities most vulnerable young people.

“Opposition to the new children’s houses is in part due to the stigma surrounding young people in care – many of whom are looked after because they need care and protection and not because they have done anything wrong.”

Maybole’s community council has submitted a number of concerns to South Ayrshire Council regarding the possible development at Queen’s Terrace.

Complaints focus around additional traffic, the possible lowering of property value and any anti-social problems that may be caused by the unit.

A spokesman for the community council said: “A number of concerns were expressed, so we have presented them to South Ayrshire Council.

“Maybole was the location of a residential school for 35 years until the council closed it approximately four years ago.

“There’s a feeling that the town has carried its share of the burden and the council should be looking for a site to the north, probably in the Ayr/Prestwick/Troon areas, where the majority of the residents come from.”