Our troubled children need help from you

Here in Scotland we should be proud of founding the Children’s Panel which has led the way in helping the most vulnerable youngsters get the help and support they need.

Last week, Children Hearings Scotland launched an appeal for volunteers to help fill the 500 posts around the country.

It’s tough, challenging work I know because I did it for three years, but it is possibly the most rewarding thing you will ever do.

Children who have been beaten, abused, neglected at home or who have got into trouble at school come before a panel of three people who have read their case notes, understood their history of problems and who try everything they can to find a solution to the individual needs of the child.

Lawyers, social workers, teachers, parents and grandparents sit round the table with the child and the Panel members and together they try to work out the best solution for the future happiness and wellbeing of the child.

I’ve seen miracles happen in a Hearing room.

Broken families, hurt, confused children whose lives never got off to a good start can and do turn their lives around with a little help from the supporting services who have their best interests at heart.

Children who have played truant from school are helped to understand that learning matters. Kids who can’t stand the violence they’ve lived with at home for years find peace and hope with caring foster parents who show them what a normal home life looks like.

In the Glasgow area, where I worked, there were often three generations of dysfunctional families where alcoholism and abuse had dominated. So many teenage girls with babies they had no idea how to love, so many lads who’d never known a father’s guidance or gentle support. It’s very hard for a child to cope when they think no-one cares what happens to them.

Before a Hearing, the Panel members sit at home reading case histories which open your eyes to a life you find hard to understand. The deprivation. The cupboards without food. The junkie needles on the floor. The nightly brawls.

And yet, miracles happen. With support, teenage mums learn how to feed, love and cherish their babies. With the help of grandparents, children attend school and begin to enjoy learning. Fathers who have been allowed no access to their kids because of their violence, gradually learn how to play with their children and how to establish a safe home for them.

One of the best things I’ve ever seen was a teenage girl, almost 16, who came into the Hearing room and told us “I don’t want to come back here any more.” She’d lived in a Children’s Home for years after appalling abuse from both her parents. “I’ve got a job. I’ve made friends. I want to get on with my life. I’m not coming back,” she said quietly and firmly.

Listening to her, seeing the quiet but firm young woman before us, we had no doubt she’d make it.

Last week I’m sure you shared my horror at learning what has been going on in Rotherham. The sexual abuse of hundreds of young girls whose cries for help went unheeded shames our society.

Those who are most vulnerable are in need of the help not just of the professionals but of ordinary men and women who can give their time, their help and their care to supporting young people in need.

It’s not about extraordinary skills it’s about common sense. People from all backgrounds are needed.

Children and young people want to be accepted and encouraged in a safe environment. Their voices need to be heard.

If you feel you can help to make that happen, maybe Children’s Hearings Scotland is the place to start.