The SAFE@LAST SAFEPLACE refuge is the only facility in England outside of London which provides short term, confidential accommodation for children and young people 16 years and under, who are at risk from where they are running from or where they are running to. SAFE and CONFIDENTIAL accommodation is provided under section 51 of the Children Act 1989 by the authority of the Secretary of State.

The SAFE@LAST model of refuge is inviting a great deal of interest from other voluntary and statutory agencies. Thanks to the support of Railway Children and some very generous individual and corporate supporters we were able to purchase and renovate the building. The staff team are highly trained, motivated and committed, we know that refuge should be the last resort for young people, that there should be better alternatives for children and young people under the age of 16. Our managers work long and hard to find other safe, longer term alternatives for children who request admission and the refuge team are very often able to find other appropriate safe or stay at home solutions for young people who initially request admission to the SAFEPLACE.

Unfortunately in a number of cases there really is no safe alternative and these children are admitted and looked after with the highest quality of care during their stay.

The SAFEPLACE refuge has recently undergone an independent evaluation and the findings from this will be disseminated at a national Conference, REFUGE@LAST at Sheffield City Hall on 5th May 2010. If you would like to find out more about attending the event, please click here