Good morning, these are the latest ECHO headlines today.
Teen who is unable to speak has her world 'reduced to her bedroom'
An 'invisible' teen is stuck in limbo where "her world is her bedroom" after leaving college due to her experience of "isolation and constantly being let down".
Ellen Dormer, 17, has a developmental language disorder (DLD) that causes difficulty processing words spoken to her and trouble putting words together. Struggling to express herself and follow conversations, Ellen has few friends and left college in November after reasonable adjustments weren't put in place.
Now the Thornton teen's "world is her bedroom, it's becoming smaller and smaller, she's more and more isolated", and the clock is ticking down on her future, according to mum Roisin, who said: "She feels angry, frustrated, let down, invisible, unwanted. She said she was like a piece of left luggage that nobody wants to claim, being passed from pillar to post."
READ MORE: Boy, 4, expelled from school after just five weeks in reception
Ellen attended "countless reviews and emergency meetings" and is supposedly "bulletproof with a legally enforceable" education, health and care plan (EHCP), but she's still not back in education, employment of training. Roisin, a teacher, feels her daughter's "hard earned voice is no longer heard" as the teen grows increasingly isolated and sinks into silence.
She said: "Without a voice, life is very hard. How can you express your needs, wants and desires? How do you travel and shop? How do you make and maintain friendships? The less you use that voice the harder it is to regain."
Read the full story here.
Liverpool’s historic department stores ‘at risk’
Liverpool's department stores are facing a crisis thanks to the pandemic and rapidly changing shopping patterns, according to a heritage campaign group.
Save Britain's Heritage, a charity campaigning to rescue historic old buildings, has compiled a report which assesses the current landscape for department stores. It notes that the pandemic has accelerated a move away from high street shopping, “causing the collapse of high-profile chains and leaving thousands of shops vacant and at risk.”
The report details the fortunes of 46 of the UK’s most significant department store buildings, eight of which are situated in Liverpool - the most out of any city included in the report. Save Britain's Heritage argues that 18 of these former high street fixtures are now at serious risk being lost forever.
READ MORE: Challenges, opportunities and what comes next for Liverpool city centre
Three of the eight Liverpool department stores are seen as at risk. It states that new ‘viable uses’ can be found for historic department stores to avoid being redeveloped.
These includes the former Blacklers Department Store on Great Charlotte Street, which survived significant bomb damage during the Blitz and was renown for its Christmas displays. Another is the TJ’s department store at Audley House on London Road. The retailer announced that it will be moving from the site to a more central location, with the building the subject of residential redevelopment plans. Its neighbouring Hughes House has already been demolished to make way for flats.
Read the full story here.
Faces of 19 people jailed in Liverpool this week
A list compiled by the Liverpool ECHO includes 19 people locked up for crimes linked to Merseyside this past week.
Courts heard about a despicable son who betrayed his mum's trust and a boyfriend who left his partner's sister blind in one eye. Meanwhile, one judge sentenced a mum who stole more than a quarter of a million pounds from her employers and enjoyed the high life.
Judges had to sentence a drug dealer known as "The Big Guy" and one of Liverpool's most notorious crooks who is back behind bars again. They also sentenced a kidnapper who targeted a lone woman.
READ MORE: Brave barrister and grandad 'fought with courage' before death
Disturbing cases included a paedophile who sexually abused children as they slept, a child rapist brought to justice three decades latter and a family who "hid a dark secret".
A judge also had to sentence father and son drug dealers who received threat to life warnings from police and took drastic action. Here is an overview of some of those which have concluded this past week.
