How Merseyside's money helped thousands of abused children

May 9 2008

THOUSANDS of abused and troubled Merseyside children have been helped by charity workers since a groundbreaking facility was opened in Liverpool one year ago.

The NSPCC’s Hargreaves Centre, which provides vital services for victims of domestic abuse and substance misuse, celebrates its first anniversary today (Fri May 9) but the charity says it needs continued support in order to build on the achievements so far.

The NSPCC’s annual sporting lunch coincides with the anniversary and is being held today at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Liverpool, with guest speaker Olympic medal winner Roger Black.

Organisers hope the event will raise thousands to help support the Hargreaves Centre on Great Homer Street, Everton.

Assistant director Alex Leith said last night: “This is the start of something. It was a risk for the NSPCC to put its weight behind such a large local appeal because we have not done that before.

“The understanding used to be that it was not possible to raise that amount of money locally.

“That has been proven wrong and we are now trying to replicate the project in other parts of the country. We are very pleased with how the first year has gone.

“We set out with the aspiration of having a presence in Liverpool as that is where the NSPCC began 125 years ago.

“In the 21st Century some of the problems in society are different than in the 19th but some are surprisingly similar and we still need to protect children from abuse.”

The £17m safe haven was built after a two-and-a-half-year Liverpool Daily Post-backed fundraising campaign – The Safe Place Appeal.

It was named after the biggest benefactor, Matalan magnate John Hargreaves.

Since the opening abused youngsters, drug dependent mothers and families affected by domestic violence have been helped and supported.

A total of 17,000 one-to-one sessions have been completed with young people in the www.there4me.com service, which aims to help 12 to 16-year-olds and the centre has provided support for 231 cases of domestic violence.

Staff are also currently counselling 12 men responsible for this violence in its No Excuse group and 90 women are being helped to overcome substance misuse – 60 of which are in Styal prison.

In March Esther Rantzen also opened a new ChildLine phone bank at the centre, which is now getting 3,500 calls a day and the charity is appealing for volunteers to cope with demand.

NSPCC Trustee Helene Webb says the sporting lunch is a great way to support the centre: “This lunch is a fundraising highlight for us and is always a great event.

“Even if people cannot make it to the lunch, which has coincided with Chester Races this year, they can still support us and we have many people who are putting in phone bids for items in our charity auction.”

The auction and raffle gives guests the chance to edit an edition of the Liverpool Daily Post and bid for cases of Champagne, among other prizes.

Cathy Frost, chairwoman of the NSPCC fundraising committee, added: “Last year we raised £60,000 and we hope to achieve this level of success again.”

People interested in volunteering for ChildLine should contact the charity’s North West base on 0870 336 2920.