ORGANISATIONS are gearing up for a major summit to tackle the problem of runaways from minority ethnic groups in the North West.

The one-day conference in Manchester, organised by the Apna Choice Group, a partnership of statutory and voluntary agencies from across the North West, will consider the reasons why minority ethnic young people run away and why they do not access the services available to them.

At the event, which is aimed at policy makers, managers and practitioners, delegates will aim to develop methods to make services more accessible and sensitive to the needs of these young runaways.