CHAPTER 5

  THE MULBERRY BUSH PROJECT.

At the Mulberry Project yet another frightened, and roughly three months pregnant teenager, was brought in by Social Services.  Wendy was a regular face at Mulberry and a good Social Worker.  Even though she was only in her mid-twenties, she was what ordinary people would call street wise.  She was not easily fooled, and not one of those out of touch middle classed Social Workers from a functional family, whose only experience of life’s difficulties had been what she’d read in textbooks.  She had a bubbly personality mixed with a no-nonsense approach, and a genuinely understanding and unshockable nature.  She was never patronising and never spoke down to the kids she was trying to help.

“Another visitor for you,” she smiled, ushering in the country girl who had ran away to the big city to “hide her shame.”  Another good girl from a strict family who had been looking for love and confused it with sex!  The girl had no luggage, of course.  Runaways never arouse suspicion by carrying suitcases.  They pack the bare essentials into a roomy shoulder bag and go.  “This is Carol.  She’s 17.  She needs to stay a while until we sort her problems out.  You have a room free, haven’t you?”

“Of course we have.  Penthouse suite.  Room at the top.  Nice view if you want to hang out of a skylight!”  Ruth joked to ease the discomfort of such meetings.  These kids were usually upset, embarrassed, worried about the trouble they might have gotten into or caused, and they were almost always tired and hungry.  “Something to eat and a tea or coke first?”

Carol nodded, coyly.

“New places can feel a bit frightening at first, but we’re all friends here Carol.  You’ll be okay.  None of us will let anything bad happen to you while you’re here, and none of us will try to make you do anything you don’t want to.  We are here to listen and to help.  You can tell us how.  You know what’s best for yourself.  You’ll get time to think it all out here, and you might even like it.  There are a lot of nice kids here, and Andy, a guitarist and singer out of a band called Alienz will be coming in later to give a few guitar lessons and entertain us all a bit.  Heard of them?”