Georgette Mulheir
Chief Executive Officer
At Lumos we believe that the institutionalisation of children is one form of child abuse that can be eradicated during our lifetime. Institutionalising children – separating them from their families and bringing them up in an environment where they live a regimented life – causes serious harm to their health and development, and to their future life chances. Eighty years of research evidence and practice demonstrates the harm caused by institutions and that children need to grow up in a loving family environment.
Research suggests that new-born babies raised in institutions are at serious risk of impaired brain development. For babies living in an institution for longer than six months, even if they are finally placed back into a family environment, it is unlikely they will completely recover from this damage. Across the European region approximately one million children live in large residential institutions. No matter how hard the institution personnel try, the system cannot respond to the individual needs of children and cannot replace the natural environment of a loving, caring family...
