Kids Company

Been reading a lot of conflicting reports in the press about KC, and wondering if anyone on the forum had any first hand knowledge about what has been going on?

Also wondering how Southwark and Lambeth councils are going to be able to step in and help vulnerable children and young people who have been left stranded now that the KC services have stopped.

I feel for the kids and families affected and also staff who've lost jobs. I hope that both find the help and support they need in this no doubt difficult time for them.

BUT I've never really been a fan of the way KC was run and felt it was too commercial an enterprise and perhaps the plaything of its leader/director/key trustee. Surprised it's taken as long as it has. There was a sign on the Decima Street premises this morning basically telling kids to contact social services, the police or a gang helpline.

Sister Cecily down at the Bosco Centre does just as good a job, if not better - and has been doing so for over 30 years. The kids could perhaps get some help from the Bosco Centre.

There was a young girl interviewed on news tonight and she spoke about children queuing for money and then spending it on cigarettes and drugs. I think this happened quite a bit; as a teacher I often heard kids talking about something they wanted to buy and saying they would go there and get some money. However, we all know that in any activity, any place of work, and even in friendship groups, there will always be someone who takes advantage and so this shouldn't be such a shock. One concern I had, although I never visited the place so can't confirm this, is that some kids I spoke to, were too scared to go there for help because they thought there were too many 'gangs' going there and they would feel intimidated. (Not knife gangs or post-code gangs; just groups who had taken 'ownership'.) My opinion is that the organisation just got too big and it would have been better to have opened smaller centres.

News night last night did a report on Kids Company, including an interview with the Founder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b064nhbd/newsnight-06082015

They seem to be on a protest march today, saw them on Westminster Bridge Road around 12pm

This whole Kids Company thing has not been fully reported by the media: I'm not even sure what the whole thing is about.

Until I do find out, I will hold back on expressing any form of personal opinion.

I think the problem is that too much was reported before anyone was told of what was happening.

Those allegations of abuse were, no matter what they say, the reason funds were pulled, Camila more than held her own on Newsnight last night and maintains that all audits have come back good. This accusation that they never had reserve funds was answered by Camila last night.
Quite frankly, the whole thing stinks.

boroughonian wrote:

I think the problem is that too much was reported before anyone was told of what was happening.
Those allegations of abuse were, no matter what they say, the reason funds were pulled, Camila more than held her own on Newsnight last night and maintains that all audits have come back good. This accusation that they never had reserve funds was answered by Camila last night.
Quite frankly, the whole thing stinks.

Yes: I believe you are totally right.

Now let us see what comes up: belief or facts.

If it is true that a charity working for the rights and protection of vulnerable children actually failed to do so, then yes: they should be shut down.

All that is missing, is a clear, unequivocal, report of what actually took place.

Until then, I will reserve judgement.

Reeks of a smear to me.

The first story was that KC had hastily spent half of the £3M grant, within a couple days of receiving it, on salaries and that "government sources" said that it "was not what it was intended for", this was a news bulletin on LBC, I imagine Camila's insistence that all audits (independent as well) have come back good, ended that story line, because I haven't heard that one since.

The allegations of abuse were not reported to the police, social services or indeed Camila, before they were released.

I don't know, maybe I've been suckered, but I believed everything that came out of her mouth during her interview with Kirsty, even if she has failed, and she admits to failing to gain more funds whilst not receiving a penny of public money btw, there seems to be an endless queue of people wanting to stick it to her, all making claims and, frankly, they need to ask themselves why they never went to any authority with them.

Having watched two television interviews one with Camilla and the other with Alan Yentob whose reaction-angry and bullying- in his interview on Channel 4 was like that of a guilty man who has been caught out and has no real explanation of his lack of oversight as chairman. I am disturbed by the whole matter.
Yentob as the Chairman of the trustees should have had a more hands-on approach and as a director should be held equally responsible with Camilla with whatever has gone wrong.
I have tried to go through their last accounts as published for 2013 ( after Mohzy Chipperfield -Director of Finance- left in July 2013 and the subsequent resignation of the trustee, Susan Chinn in October 2013) and thought they were inadequate in the extreme and I do not understand how they were signed off by the auditors or the trustees. There must be much more detail than has been published which would reveal the truth and probably exonerate those now involved in trying to rescue their reputations.
Camilla did reveal, in her interview, that Kids Company has had £20 million of public money and was shown to be economic with the truth.
The most disturbing aspect of the whole affair is how those in charge of Kids Company pulled the plug on it and went into liquidation without telling the staff who turned up for work only to find premises closed without warning and without making proper provision for all of the vulnerable people who need those services.