RUNAWAY TEEN
A teen runs away from home after quarrelling with parents and care givers, in order to get independence, indulge in delinquent behaviour, pursue a dream or escape from an unhealthy and unfriendly home environment. The runaway teen usually lives on the street, at the benevolence and expense of peers and acquaintances or in the care of charitable social and religious organizations that provide shelter for runaways. The US National Runaway switchboard reports that “Each year one million teens leave home without permission. Runaways come from every social class, race, and religion.” (http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9691/teenrunaways.html)
The life of a runaway teen is full of uncertainty, danger and excitement. The runaway teen in order to survive must decide on what to do to earn income for sustenance. The runaway teen would usually beg or work for food. However since a runaway teen is on the run and with little educational qualification, job opportunities are limited. This forces the runaway teen to engage in unwholesome activities like teen prostitution, robbery, drug peddling etc to earn some money.
According to the National runaway hotline: “There are many dangers involved in running away. Alone in a strange city or on the highway, a teen is an easy target for thieves, pimps, drug pushers, and other violent criminals. The problems at home are replaced by more serious and more dangerous problems on the street. (http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9691/teenrunaways.html)
Since teens are usually not yet mature enough to face fully the challenges in an adult world, the runaway teen succumbs to temptation of doing drugs and abusing alcohol in order to deal with the emotional and psychological turmoil that goes with leaving home.
The massive pressure a runaway teen faces can damage the teen’s psyche, make a teen vulnerable and aggressive so that even when such a teen ends up in a shelter or back home, attitudes picked up from the street make it difficult for people to relate with such a teen or to provide psychological help. However, running away especially when it is to escape an unhealthy climate at home can give a teen the extra motivation and drive to succeed in life. Some runaway teens escaping from danger at home seek out help and are open to assistance from qualified personnel. Some are taken in by kind people, make it to foster care or end up in centers that provide for and protect runaways.
