The Ever Open Door, 150 Years of the Together Trust ......the story of one children's charity

The Ever Open Door, 150 Years of the Together Trust, is now available.*

It covers the charity’s on going work with young people and has been issued to coincide with their 150th year.

I first got interested in the charity when I was looking for background information on British Home Children, because like many children’s organizations they migrated young people to Canada.

But unlike others they stopped earlier and migrated fewer than most charities.

They had begun in 1870 with a modest undertaking to take six destitute boys off the streets of Manchester and Salford, give them a  bed for the night and breakfast in the morning.

Within a decade this had expanded to girls as well as boys, a group of permanent homes, and vocational training schemes.

Emma before admision in 1913

Added to this they intervened in the courts on behalf of children in need of protection from neglectful or cruel parents, campaigned for better  monitoring of children who worked on the streets, selling matches and newspapers, as well as calling for legislation to protect them.

The charity provided holidays for those in their charge and even ran a programme of meeting ex- convicts, newly released from Strangeways prison, offering them a meal and advice.

And amongst all these activities they also migrated young people to Canada.

The book draws on the archives of the charity, including reports, photographs, letters, reminiscences, and other memorabilia, and is supplemented by newspaper coverage, and government documents.

Emma after admission, 1913

But above all what comes through are the experiences of the  young people who went through the doors, the dedication of the staff over that 150 years, and the changing approach to the care of those young people.

Pictures; cover of The Ever Open Door 150 Years of the Together Trust, 2010, and Emma before and after admission to the charity in 1913, courtesy of the Together Trust

*The Ever Open Door, 150 Years of the Together Trust, Andrew Simpson, 2020. You can obtain copies of the book from, books@togethertrust.org.uk But given the current circumstances there may be a delay in getting books out in the post to people.