South Liverpool Kids Homes

[Paddy]

South Liverpool in the 60?s and 70?s had more care homes than any other part of Liverpool. The infamous Remand Home on Menlove Avenue has now been pulled down by the local authority. The cruelty that was allowed to go on in there was extreme and is well documented. Westfield on Greenback drive is another care home that had an awful reputation under the regime of a Mr. **** who was eventually prosecuted. However there were progressive establishments such as New Heys on Allerton road and Parkfield on Parkfield road Aigburth. The present Liverpool council stonewalls any attempt at compensating victims even though the council is insured. The Catholic Church won?t come out about their contribution to cruelty in the care system so a curtain has been pulled down. Many of the children are dead now and the survivors carry on yet no apology is ever forth coming. Writing on the echo forum about this topic the replies were about seeking self pity and looking for hand out?s Actually I would like to be more professional and just expose some of the cruelty that went on, because I suffered myself I don?t think that I should be prevented from offering a perspective. With chat shows in the 90?s sexual abuse scandals made the head lines and if you could prove you had been molested you got a few bob. Well some of us suffered severe beatings in those homes and that too can be painful and cause young people to mistrust the world. Well hoods won?t suffer in this topic as most of the homes were quite secluded and out of the way. As I said there were progressive regimes too and the happiest days of my childhood in care were spent at New Heys assessment centre and my foster home on Mersey Avenue.

If anyone has any positive contributions to this thread I would like to read them. The problem with people coming forward about Menlove Avenue is that it was a punitive establishment. Yet kids like myself went there because they had no where else to place us and it was there the assaults took place. When I see the lengths they go to cover up as in pulling the place down it makes me really angry. The beating of boys in that place went on for years and they still wont as a council apologize so how can they promote themselves as a caring community protective of children. I hope one day that this issue reaches the European courts and is treated as a human rights issue as it should be. I have seen too many broken lives to want to walk away from this. The hostility of Liberal Democrats to this issue is beyond me and other councils have gone out their way to try and put things right as in North Wales. I have spoken with the ex deputy chief constable of Merseyside on this issue and he was in agreement as to the serious nature of the allegations against Menlove Avenue. The Irish to fall in line with European human rights legislation offered victims a compensation package and a full apology from the state. The Liverpool kids that got shipped out to Australia have had an apology of the Pope so there is something in it! and it is not about looking for pity as the Liverpool Echo would have it. So if any others who suffered in the south Liverpool care homes want a say here?s the thread.