The intersection between the recession and family stress may be causing an increase in runaway kids and teens, according to a recent article in the New York Times. Job loss, foreclosures, and poverty have added to the stresses at home which have been trickling down and effecting teens.
Reporter Ian Urbina recently spent time with teen runaways in Medford, Oregon. He learned the desperate measures they take in order to survive everyday rather than return home. Most runaways aren’t even reported missing by their guardians, and if they are reported to the local police, most times they don’t make it into the national database. Without national recognition, it is very hard for police to identify and return these runaways.
Police claim that runaways are not a top priority because most of the time they do not want to be found or returned home. Unfortunately of the 267 runaways reported nationwide 58 of them were found dead. “These kids might as well be invisible if they aren’t in National crime information center (N.C.I.C.),” said Ernie Allen, the director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
While federal officials are expecting a rise in homelessness this year, most social programs aid homeless families, not unaccompanied youth. At the same time, many financially troubled states have severely cut social services, leaving little to no help for homeless runaways. This presents a significant challenge for society, as runaway children are more likely to become homeless adults who are forced to live a life of crime.
For information please visit the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, The National Coalition for the Homeless, and The National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Reporter Ian Urbina recently spent time with teen runaways in Medford, Oregon. He learned the desperate measures they take in order to survive everyday rather than return home. Most runaways aren’t even reported missing by their guardians, and if they are reported to the local police, most times they don’t make it into the national database. Without national recognition, it is very hard for police to identify and return these runaways.
Police claim that runaways are not a top priority because most of the time they do not want to be found or returned home. Unfortunately of the 267 runaways reported nationwide 58 of them were found dead. “These kids might as well be invisible if they aren’t in National crime information center (N.C.I.C.),” said Ernie Allen, the director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
While federal officials are expecting a rise in homelessness this year, most social programs aid homeless families, not unaccompanied youth. At the same time, many financially troubled states have severely cut social services, leaving little to no help for homeless runaways. This presents a significant challenge for society, as runaway children are more likely to become homeless adults who are forced to live a life of crime.
For information please visit the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, The National Coalition for the Homeless, and The National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
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