Support for young people who have gone missing from home or care
We listen to understand why children go missing and then give them support to stop them running and make safer choices.
Support that's right for you
We’ll meet you where you feel most comfortable, such as where you live, at your school, college, or youth club.
Our services are free
We'll never judge
We're here to listen
How this service works
We work across the Tri-Party areas to support young people who have gone missing from home.
We do this by:
- Listening: our experienced Case Workers work with the young person to understand their story, the reasons they went missing, and what needs to change to reduce the chances of it happening again
- Tailoring: we know that every young person is different, so we’ll meet wherever they feel safest
- Guiding: we provide information and tools which help young people to see the risks involved with going missing and make safer choices
- Advocating: we’re an independent charity, separate from the police or social care. We hear what the young person tells us and we ensure that this is heard by our partners, too.
How we can help
WithYou is an independent charity, separate from the police or social care.
If a young person is reported to the police as missing, we’ll meet with them to complete a Return Home Interview.
Through this, we’ll ask them why they went missing, what needs to be put in place to make them feel safe, and what changes would stop them from running away in future.
Following the interview, we provide the young person with advice and information to support them with personal safety planning. Depending on what support is required, we may also:
- Complete one-to-one sessions with the young person ourselves
- Refer the young person to a specialist service or professional who can offer ongoing support
- Signpost the young person to another service
100% of young people that completed a Return Home Interview stated that it had helped them to keep safe.
Following a Return Home Interview, we may suggest that one of our expert Case Workers completes direct work with the young person.
This involves one-to-one sessions, which are usually delivered once a week for four to six weeks, though this will depend on the young person and their needs.
Sessions are held wherever the young person feels safest - this could be at home, at school, out on a walk, or in a cafe.
During these sessions, a case worker will provide the young person with the information and tools they need to see the risks involved with running away, make safer choices, and put steps in place to make positive changes.
We may also complete work around the other factors in the young person's life which may be contributing to their missing incidents.
If you're worried that a child is thinking about or has gone missing, please read this information so you know what to do.
We support professionals across the Tri-Party areas by:
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Providing specialist advice at multi-agency meetings, such as Child Protection Conferences, Core Groups and Strategy Meetings
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Attending Trigger Meetings to contribute to safety planning
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Sharing information through contributions at weekly Contextual Safeguarding Risk Meetings
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Providing training on the missing process and the services we provide through delivery of our Missing From Home Masterclass
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Who is our service for?
We support young people:
- who have gone missing from home or care
- living across Cheshire West & Chester, Warrington, or Halton
- who are under the age of 18 years old
Get in touch with us
Chat to a member of our webchat team online.
Webchat is an online platform where anyone over the age of 13 can go to access free and confidential support for challenges relating to alcohol, drugs or mental health.
Whether you need advice for yourself or for someone you care about, our friendly team of trained advisers are here for you.
If a young person is in immediate danger, is a young child, or is at risk of harm - call 999 now.
