THE mother of murdered Becky Godden-Edwards has backed one charity’s campaign to keep young people safer on the streets at night.
Karen Edwards joined South Swindon MP Robert Buckland and staff at the mental health charity SUNS, in Victoria Road, last week to promote a new scheme where youngsters can text the charity’s Listening Line if they are stranded in town alone and need a safe passage home.
SUNS, run by Ann Mooney, has commissioned wristbands that carry the Listening Line mobile number and these will be handed out free to young people in the near future.
Becky disappeared in 2002 after living on the streets and her family believed she was still alive until her body was found in a field in Gloucestershire on what would have been her 29th birthday.
Karen hopes the campaign could help prevent young women like Becky or Sian O’Callaghan, who was abducted and murdered by mini-cab driver Chris Halliwell on the streets of Old Town in March 2011, from being victims of crime.
Ann said: “Lots of young people go out in groups or as couples and then they get split up and find themselves on their own.
“These wristbands will be glow in the dark and will have our number on so that if these young people get stranded and need our help to get home we can ring their parents and arrange for a trusted cab firm to take them home.
“We have good local contacts and will make sure we have allocated drivers that we trust. Then once they are at home if the parents want to they can reimburse the charity the money for the trip.
“I’ve got kids and I know that if I got a call late at night to say someone was bringing my child home safe I would be very grateful.”
Karen, 52, said: “It’s a great idea. The Listening Line already helps an awful lot of people and the wristbands can help them reach out to more young people.
“They can wear them or have them in their handbag and if they need help or someone to talk to, they can call.”
The Listening Line service, which is staffed by paid employees of SUNS, currently operates until midnight and handles calls from people with a range of needs, including loneliness and depression.
But Ann wants to see it extend into the early hours of the morning with the launch of the wristband scheme so that it can potentially help more young people.
Anyone who would like to volunteer can call SUNS on 01793 436174 or help@swindonlisteningline.org.
Anyone in need of help or who needs to talk to an advisor can call the Listening Line number on 01793 836871 or text 07850 708317 and someone will call back.
Original Source: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10847884.Making_nights_safe_for_teens_going_out/
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