The Runaway Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like a runaway, you are never alone.  Countless men, women and children have faced the exact same issue and have survived and thrived.  The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.  

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best runaway resources: articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional and other challenges that you face.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Runaway Guide even more helpful to survivors like you.   

JUST FOUND OUT 

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Runaway

• National Runaway Switchboard
  
• Child Welfare League of America
  
• Family and Youth Services Bureau
  

The Big Picture

It is important to understand what a runaway is. According to the Child Welfare League of America, runaways are under the age of 18 and have been away from home for at least one night without the permission of parents, guardians or other custodial authorities. Children that have been told to leave their home or have been deserted by parents or guardians are known as throwaways. Street youth are kids that have managed to live outdoors or in abandoned buildings for an extended period of time. They are often runaways, throwaways or otherwise homeless young people.

To help you understand the difference between runaways and other homeless youth, visit this link:

Child Welfare League of America: Life on the Run, Life on the Streets

To know what to do if your child is planning to run away or has already left:

National Runaway Switchboard: Articles for Parents

Your Runaway

To better understand what type of runaway your case is classified as:

Runaway Youths: Categories of Runaways

Your World

After finding out your loved one is missing, you will experience a wide range of emotions. To help support you through this difficult time:

Team Hope: What to Do if Your Child is Missing

Runaway Myths

• Most homeless youth are runaways
• Runaways are bad kids that leave home
• Runaways can’t be stopped

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

• Foundation 2: Runaway Help
  
• International Centre: Missing & Exploited Children
  
• National Runaway Switchboard

Types of Treatment

Prevention

Talking to your child or teen about why they want to runaway is key in preventing runaways. To help you talk to your child before they runaway, read this article:

Teenagers Today: Preventing Runaways - Keep Your Teen From Becoming One of The Thousands That Run Away Each Year

Intervention

Many crisis centers to help in intervention of runaway cases. Law enforcement and other support services can help parents contact their runaway children.

All About Counseling: National 1-800 Crisis Hotlines

Creating a support circle

• Set up your TSC Survivor Profile
• Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own
• Interact and provide updates on your profile or our forums

Insurance & Work Matters

Insurance Matters

Health insurance for the homeless and runaway population is of great concern. Learn more about these matters:

Summary of Homeless and Runaway Survey Responses

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

Psychological counseling and medical treatment is often necessary after a runaway has been recovered.

For a look at the medical needs of runaways:

Pub Med Central: Relationship Between Service Utilization and Runaways Youths' Alcohol and Other Drug Use

To find therapists and medical help, follow these tips:

Focus Adolescent Services: Counseling and Therapy

The Emotional Roller-coaster

Knowing you have a runaway child is a difficult challenge for anyone facing the problem. It is an emotional challenge that many find hard to deal with. To take your mind off the situation, continue to live your life as normally as possible, but stay in touch through runaway special interest groups that help connect families. Find online and nearby support groups and learn all you can about your unique situation through exposing yourself to books and stories written by those who have dealt with runaways in their past can help give you and your loved ones hope while dealing with this crisis.

Books Survivors Recommend

• Our Runaway and Homeless Youth: A Guide to Understanding      
• Runaway
• Runaway Youth: Stress, Social Support, and Adjustment (Children of Poverty)
  

What Survivors Wish They’d Known

Dealing with Runaway: Information and Recommended Links for Co-Survivors

How you can help

• Assist your friend or family member in finding an outreach program for runaways
• Make sure that they continue in their daily lives and associations with others
• Help them with daily chores

What to say   

• "I will be with you for all of this"
• "It’s not your fault”
• Tell them how much you care about them   
  

What not to say

• "How could you not see it coming?”
• "You’re a bad parent"
• "Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll come back soon"

Things you can do for a survivor everyday

Offer day to day support and put them in touch with a local or national runaway hotline that can help them contact their child, even if they’re not ready to return home.

How to build a support network

• Set up your TSC Co-Survivor Profile
• Create a support group for your friend or family member.
• Interact and provide updates

After a child comes back, it is normal to feel a flood of emotions, not all of them positive. To help you deal with your recovered runaway:

Recovery   

To help you talk to your returned child:
Focus Adolescent Services: When Your Teen Returns Home

For inspiring survival stories:
Penn State: Runaway Lives - Stories

Give back

What helped you while you were dealing with a runaway situation, either as a parent or guardian or even as the runaway? Take a look back at your journey and share with other what helped you and what you wished you would have known/done during your runaway experience. You can create a profile, reach out to other survivors, join support circles or share your story by following the links at TheSurvivorsClub.org. Check out some of the best charities for supporting runaway research or offering support to survivors:

National Runaway Switchboard: Support NRS with a Financial Contribution

If you find out that something has happened to your runaway and that they won’t be coming back, visit this link for support:

Belief Net: When a Child Dies - Surviving the Death of Dreams