Stories from the streets

Jenny lived with her mother, father and two older brothers. The family were very close and Jenny was happy. However, when she was five her father died and her mother became depressed and too ill to look after the children. Social services became involved and the children were placed in individual foster homes - in short, the family was divided.

Each child spent a week living with their mother on their own and two weeks with the foster parents. While Jenny liked her foster parents, she understandably missed her mum and would run away to see her: 'I just wanted to be with my mum.'

All alone and only six years old, Jenny would try to walk the 12 miles to her mother's home. Sometimes she made it, sometimes she was picked up by the police first. Her mum was always pleased to see her but would explain that she had to call social services who would then take Jenny back to her foster parents.

It took a while for Jenny to settle down, but she hasn't run away for the last few months. She finally understands that it is not possible for her to live with her mother at the moment, and she is happy in her foster home.