SCOTLAND'S first refuge for young runaways was launched in Glasgow yesterday by a charity and Kathleen Marshall, the country's commissioner for children and young people.
The Running Other Choices (ROC) refuge will accommodate about 100 children, mainly between the ages of 12 and 15, who leave home or care each year.
While it is largely for children from the Glasgow and central belt, runaways who arrive in the city from elsewhere can also use it.
Referral to the refuge, run by Aberlour Child Care Trust, can come directly from a young person or through an agency.
When a young person is admitted, the police and local authority are notified so that family or carers can be reassured about his or her safety.
Romy Langeland, chief executive of Aberlour Child Care Trust, said that every year in Scotland an estimated 7000 children under 16 run away for the first time.
He said: "These children are extremely vulnerable and it is vital that we do everything possible to keep them safe and to stop them from feeling that they need to keep running away.
"Many runaways sleep rough and around one in six are physically or sexually assaulted while away from home.
"Children run away for many reasons but in the majority of cases, not because they think it is a glamorous or exciting thing to do."
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