Latest news with #Children'sHome
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Judge tells victims of fugitive paedophile: ‘Only one person to blame'
A judge has told victims of a paedophile former scout leader and school housemaster that only one person was at fault for the abuse they suffered. The Honorary Recorder of Chester, Judge Steven Everett, made the remark at the sentencing hearing of 81-year-old Richard Burrows, who systematically abused 24 young boys across the Cheshire, West Midlands and West Mercia areas between 1968 and 1995. Burrows spent 27 years on the run using a stolen identity as he fled to Thailand after he failed to attend a court hearing at Chester Crown Court in December 1997 to face allegations of child sexual abuse. Last March he was arrested after he flew to Heathrow airport when he ran out of money. He was charged with further offences which had been reported after he disappeared. Last month, Burrows was found guilty by a jury at Chester Crown Court of 54 offences including indecent assault of boys, buggery, attempted buggery and indecency with a child. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to another 43 offences including indecent assault, making indecent images of children, possession of indecent images of children and four counts of possession of false identity documents with intent. His offending in Cheshire took place between 1969 and 1971 while he was employed as a housemaster looking after vulnerable children at Danesford Children's Home in Congleton. His victims in the West Midlands and West Mercia areas were abused between 1968 and 1995, the majority through local Scout groups where Burrows worked as a leader. In each case he befriended the victims by using his position of trust. On Tuesday, numerous victim personal statements were read out at Chester Crown Court, including some from the witness box as they faced the perpetrator as he watched on from the dock wearing headphones. One told the court that Burrows had 'stripped away my humanity' after he was taken away to the defendant's tent on his first camping trip with the Scouts and subjected to an eight-hour ordeal. He said he twice attempted to take his own life and felt 'perpetual trauma, shame and despair'. Judge Everett told him: 'You have done nothing to be ashamed of.' Another victim said at the time he hid the abuse from his parents, could not tell any of his friends or trust a grown-up any more. He said: 'I had no-one to turn to and just internalised it all. It totally affected my future relationships and behaviour. 'Even now I keep going through my head: 'Why did you assault me? I looked up to you.'' Judge Everett told him: 'I want to be crystal clear. There is only one person at fault here and he is sitting opposite me in the dock. 'I suspect every single person in the courtroom, bar one, feels totally sorry for you.' The court heard Burrows was dismissed from Danesford Children's Home after one of his victims, who has since died, complained at the time that he had been indecently assaulted. He later told police in 1995 that he thought he was not believed at the time and added: 'I believe deep inside Mr Burrows should be prosecuted and it should have happened a long time ago.' At trial, Burrows denied all the offences at Danesford as he claimed his change in career path was an effort to do good rather than seek out more victims.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
It's houseful at Mumbai's Prithvi theatre for these juvenile home kids
The group from the Umerkhadi home during a performance of 'Ek Aise Gagan Ke Tale', an adaptation of renowned theatre director Badal Sircar's, 'Beyond the Land of Hattamala' MUMBAI: Professional production, ticketed shows, popular acclaim. A dramatic intervention hopes to help children at city's Umerkhadi home reimagine their place in the world. Earlier this month, the stage at Prithvi Theatre belonged to 19 children in conflict with the law — many charged with serious offences — as they stood in the spotlight, not as wrongdoers but as artistes, reclaiming their story. The boys — all from Umerkhadi Observation and Children's Home — were the stars of ' Ek Aise Gagan Ke Tale ', adapted from Badal Sircar's whimsical, 'Beyond the Land of Hattamala', and directed by theatre artiste Sapan Saran. The play is set in a surreal land, where nothing is bought or sold. Two bumbling thieves stumble into it and find that it values kindness over the wallet — a world far from the one these boys have known. For the audience, it was an evening of llaughter and surprise. For the boys, it was much more — a shot at being seen differently. Just months ago, none of them had seen a play, let alone acted in one. Aged 16 to 20, most ended up at the home in connection with serious offences like theft, rape, and murder. Some are undertrials, a few have been committed (juvenile justice term for convicted), but all carry more personal and legal baggage than most adults will in a lifetime. Their fifth consecutive sold-out show, the play was a part of Theatre for Change, a drama-based intervention that begins with weekly sessions and builds up to one full production a year with professional direction, public shows, and paying audiences. The initiative is meant to support 'children in conflict with the law', a term that humanises their status but rarely alters their path. 'We didn't want an NGO showcase, but a proper, ticketed play where the boys feel like artistes — a way for them to step out of the margins and into the mainstream,' says Timira Gupta, project mentor at Ashiyana Foundation, which works with at-risk children and youth. It began, as many powerful stories do, with something small. On Human Rights Day in 2023, a group of boys from the Dongri home were invited to perform a 15-minute skit at the Raj Bhavan, called 'Second Chance', pieced together from scraps of their own lives. It was part of a theatre workshop Ashiyana had started at the home. 'The shift was visible before their first-ever show,' recalls Sachi Maniar , director of Ashiyana. 'They were talking about dialogues, not bail or court dates. And they were performing for judges, cops, authority figures — you could see the shift in gaze.' For the first time, they weren't seen as offenders, but as artistes. 'It showed in their posture, their eyes, their energy.' That moment, says Maniar, planted a seed that has since grown into this full-length play. The boys didn't warm to theatre immediately. Coming from fractured homes and violent surroundings, some were too wary to trust the room. 'They didn't want to do what they thought was ajibo-garib (strange),' laughs Gupta. But soon they were hooked, and the script grew from their ideas. 'They are victims of circumstances. Many are school dropouts with no role models. Some can't even read. Many struggle with language, memory, or focus, and so the play was adapted to suit the boys' strengths and realities,' says Maniar. Saran, who spent four months coaxing performances and conversations from the boys, says the play's humour and idealism opened up complex conversations. 'They have strong opinions about the world and how it works. The play lets them imagine an alternative,' she says, calling it a bridge between where they've been and where they want to go. For the boys, the transformation is visceral. 'They walk and talk differently. Their sense of self-worth has gone from zero to hundred,' says Gupta. Initially, the team considered giving them masks to protect their identity. But the boys refused. For Veer being in the play stirred something long dormant. 'Main kharaab hoon. Sabko pata hai (I'm bad. Everyone knows it),' he says, matter-of-factly. 'But there's something good in this play. And I'm part of it. So, it feels like I'm doing something good, too.' Jai talks of how, after one show, the dignitaries came up to speak with them, seeking them out as artistes, not offenders. 'Bahut acha laga jab bade-bade judges ne aake humse izzat aur pyaar se baat ki (It felt good when important judges spoke to us with love and respect),' he says. 'Too often, children in conflict with the law are defined by what they've done or where they're from. But they're also dreamers, thinkers, creators,' says Maniar, who sees this as central to Ashiyana's restorative work at the Umerkhadi Home, one of the country's oldest at 220 years, that offers vocational training, education, and counselling. With the play, the idea was that it's arts-led interventions like these that help children heal and reimagine their place in the world. Like Kenaram, the hapless thief in the play, who stumbles into a land where money means nothing, 17-year-old Ali — who plays him — finds himself in a world just as unfamiliar, filled with light, laughter, and second chances. 'Through the play, I've seen new places, met new people, done things I never imagined,' he says. Kader, 18, puts it simply: 'We kids don't always know what's right and wrong. We just flow, like a river. But this play gave us better direction. I hope people realise that kids like us need guidance.' The bond between the boys has deepened, too. 'Earlier, we barely spoke — just gaali (abuses),' says Ali. 'Now we joke around using lines from the play, and look out for each other.' Even home feels different. 'My brother and sister came to watch me. Not my father. But I heard he's proud. That made me happy,' he smiles. Ali now dreams of running a small business — 'maybe a food shop'. And what's he leaving behind? 'Just the aimless wandering.' (Names changed to protect identity)
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Children's Home plants pinwheels for Child Abuse Prevention Month
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — One Peoria organization planted pinwheels on their lawn to raise awareness for child abuse. Children's Home Association of Illinois had an event with several people in attendance where remarks were made and pinwheels were planted for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Anni Reinking, vice president of prevention services for the Children's Home, shared what her department's goal is and why the home's services are important. 'Really our goal at the prevention services is to get into the homes before any sort of abuse or neglect may occur,' Reinking said. 'We really want to build those positive experiences with families.' Reinking spoke about home visits, a vital program that helps victims of child abuse trust themselves to be good parents. 'We're going in and we're making sure that the parents understand what it means to have really good pro-social engagement with their child,' she said. 'What does it mean to have early literacy? What kind of games can you play? Those types of things. Just really building parents' confidence so that they know and they feel confident that they can parent.' Children's Home offers services like Good Beginnings, a prenatal and postpartum home visit program including classes and doulas, igrow Coordinated Intake, another home visit program, Family Connects, which include postpartum mother and baby checks and Perinatal Connects which are monthly home visits during pregnancy all the way up to a year after birth. Explaining how they are more than just a place kids can call home, Children's Home educated guests on all of the different programs they offer to new mothers to make sure each family is happy and healthy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Children's Home Association of Illinois earns StormReady status
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — On a fittingly overcast Thursday afternoon, the Children's Home Association of Illinois received a StormReady certification by the National Weather Service. John Lundy, safety coordinator for the Children's Home, has put in lots of work and credits his staff for their support to create a place that can weather any storm. 'We want to make it a safe environment for our clients, for our students, for our staff, any visitors that come in during the event of severe weather that they would have a safe place to go,' he said. 'That has been looked over by the National Weather Service, by the meteorologists there.' To get this honor, Children's Home had to get working weather radios and a point of warning that is able to go through their phones. Ed Shimon, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, handed Lundy a plaque of recognition, and then posed for a photo with Lundy, who held a sign that said 'We are StormReady.' Lundy's two daughters then walked up to the front of the Children's Home conference room and presented their dad with a sign that said 'Congrats Agent Lundy,' — John's nickname. The poster was decorated with pictures of Lundy and his daughters glued to the poster. 'I hope this is a catalyst for other organizations thinking about StormReady,' Shimon said. 'It's worth the effort and the community benefits, not only the organization, but the community as a whole benefit from the actions that you take to protect yourself and become StormReady.' When asked if the safety department of the Children's Home had a slogan, Lundy said, 'Stay vigilant, stay aware and always be prepared.' In a Facebook post, Children's Home Association of Illinois said, 'We are thrilled to be the 4th organization in the city of Peoria and Peoria County taking action to keep our employees, clients, and visitors safe, especially during Severe Weather Preparedness Month.' Weather Forecast: Warming things up with storm chances On the National Weather Service's website, it describes the weather preparedness program by saying, 'The StormReady program helps arm America's communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property–before, during and after the event.' To become StormReady, you have to apply. The guidelines to be certified on the NWS website are as follows: 'Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center. Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public. Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally. Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars. Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.' To find how to apply to be StormReady, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
CI Hero: Foster care director is a champion for children
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Inside the Children's Home Association of Illinois in Peoria, Michelle Hayes commits to helping foster children find their permanent home. 'To know that we're making change and we're helping children change, and adults change, is so rewarding,' said Hayes. Hayes is the director of foster care. Her team supports both traditional and specialized foster care programs. They work to help families find stability and support. Become a foster parent Learn more about resources 'We really work closely with the biological parents and the foster kids and really work hard to get these kids returned home as quick as possible and to a safe environment,' said Hayes. 'We want all the youth to be safe and we want the parents to learn and grow.' A green leaf is added to a mural tree inside the department when a child achieves permanency. Either going back to a safe home, getting adopted, or being emancipated. It's a celebratory moment for Hayes and her team. 'Talking about the good pieces of foster care when it can be so negative, so, really getting out there and cheering these parents on, cheering our community on, and really teaching and educating the central Illinois area about foster care and about Children's Home and the services we provide to the community,' said Hayes. She said there's always a need for more foster families. 'I really like seeing foster parents advocate for what they're doing and bringing in new foster parents and really be in that champion to interact with the community and telling them how great and how easy it is to become a foster parent,' said Hayes. The nonprofit is gearing up for the May Mother's Day flower basket fundraiser. Purchase Flower Basket Donate to Children's Home Pick up is May 8, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2130 N Knoxville Avenue in Peoria. Mother's Day flower baskets for sale, grown by kids from Children's Home Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
