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When Dawn was 12-years-old she was sexually abused. She didn't recognise it at the time. She thought she was in love with the 30-year-old man responsible. It was only a couple of years later when she started self-harming that the hurt of what had happened came out.

Dawn explains: "When it happened I had to go to the police station to be interviewed. My mum is disabled and my brother was under-18 at the time so my stepdad had to go in with me. I only found out recently that I should have been allowed a social worker. That would have been a lot easier for me.


"The man who abused me was sent down and I was offered help from Victim Support but I turned it down because I wasn't ready to speak about it. You don't realise you need help at the time, they should check to see how people are coping a while later."

By the time she was 14, Dawn had started self-harming. "It started as a joke with my friends - to see who could handle the most pain kind of thing. But it went on from there for me. I would burn my arms regularly. I was trying to block out what had happened but I was blaming myself for it. Self-harming meant I finally had the hurt in my heart on my arm. It calmed me down and people could see I was in pain in a different way."

Dawn sought help through a counsellor but when she moved to a new school, the counsellor warned them about her self-harm, betraying Dawn's trust in the process. She didn't get much help from school either, one teacher told her to wear long sleeves to cover up the scars on her arms. "It was like all they were thinking about was the school's reputation," says Dawn.

An education welfare officer put her in touch with a therapy group. Dawn got on well with her first key worker but took an instant dislike to her replacement. "She introduced herself by walking up to my mum with me standing there and saying, 'has she been good this week?' Like I didn't exist."

Dawn, now 16, also spent some time as a psychiatric out-patient but was upset that she wasn't offered a female psychiatrist and refused to talk to the male one. Eventually she was referred to 42nd Street, a community-based resource for young people under stress in Manchester, which runs a young women's support group. She has made huge progress since.

"When I came here they asked if I wanted a male or female key worker and we have a say in the management side of things which is great. I stopped self-harming for quite a while. I've slipped back a bit recently but I'm finally getting the help I need."

Fifteen-year-old Tina's relationship with her mum broke down when she was 11. She continually ran away from home and both she and her mother decided she would be better off in care.

Tina has a succession of short-term foster placements which she found very unsettling before going to her current foster mum. But the combination of feeling rejected by her mum, missing her six younger brothers and sisters and being bullied at school left Tina feeling depressed and angry.

After threatening to kill herself and taking an overdose, Tina's social worker referred her to 42nd Street and she has been attending the project for a year. Tina says: "It's good here, it's like a youth club and if you've got troubles you can speak to a worker and it's all confidential. I didn't feel I had any support before except for my social worker and she was always too busy to speak to me.


"I've also found that since talking to staff here I've been able to speak to my foster mum more."

Tina says she doesn't feel the urge to self-harm anywhere near as much as she used to although she still misses her brothers and sisters. She has never received any medical help for her problems and says she doesn't want to. "I wouldn't go to a doctor, they'll just think I'm loony and I don't want to go to a mental institution."

Tina acknowledges that her school work has suffered because of her problems. She says: "I got bullied a lot at school because I was in care and I've done a lot of truanting. But some of the teachers have been really supportive and things have got better. I want to go to college and train to be a nursery teacher, I want to show my mum I can get a good education."

Family and behaviour problems were at the root of Kelly's unhappiness. She found herself getting increasingly stressed and her short temper led to frequent outbursts.

For Kelly, aged 15, attending the young women's group at the 42nd Street project has been like releasing a pressure valve. She says: "I used to have a go at everyone in my house all the time but coming here has calmed me down at home and school. I also find it easier to talk to someone outside my family about my problems. If I'm upset I can talk to one of the workers here and feel better."

Kelly says her teachers at school have been supportive about her difficulties but she hasn't sought medical help because she is worried about confidentiality. She explains: "If I go to my doctor about my problems my mum would have to come with me. I think they should have doctors you can go to if you are having problems about your behaviour, without your mum having to know about it."

Michelle has been in care since she was six. Now 15, she has been moved between a bewildering array of foster carers and care homes. Not surprisingly, the ordeal has taken its toll on her emotional well-being. She says: "I found it very difficult moving schools all the time. I found it very hard trying to make friends and then having to leave them behind. It wasn't very good for me."

Michelle is now able to get help with her social and emotional problems from her key worker at 42nd Street. She says: "I've been better since I've been coming here. I can speak to the workers and I like everything we do here."

Some names have been changed to protect identities.