The information I received from the guest speaker from the National Runaway Switchboard was enlightening and quite surprising. There were things I thought I knew about runaway issues, such as the leading cause. I am thankful for the presentation from the guest speaker because I learned about what causes people to runaway and learn about services provided for them. The activity that we did as a class was very helpful. We had to put factors on the board that led to the crisis of runaways and then jot down the resources that can be utilize to prevent runaways. According to the National Runaway Switchboard, runaway and youth in crisis make up 75% of the youth status at time of call. The 14% of the combine age of 20-21 for reported caller age was mind blowing for me because I would have never thought at the age of 20 and especially 21 that someone will be considered as a runaway. The family dynamics is the leading problem identified by the callers according to the National Runaway Switchboard and as far as the gender of the caller 72% is female.
The guest speaker had a assessment exercise for the class which was disappointing for me because I got 2 correct out of 6. I definitely learned from this exercise given to us by the guest speaker. I learned that there is 1.6 to 2.8 million of kids that runaway from home each year. There is 9,000 runaway/homeless youth on the streets of Chicago. There is only 3 emergency beds tat exist in Chicago for the non-ward runaway and homeless youth. According to NRS, most runaways survive on the streets because they receive assistance from friends/relative and the most cited reason why kids runaway from home is family problems. My guess was physical abuse. There is only 750 emergency youth shelters that exist in the U.S . The problem I have about the 750 shelters that exist is a shortage and is not enough to house these children which results in homelessness.The issue will continue to grow because if the rate of runways is from 1.6 to 2.8 million each year and the U.S only have 750 shelters available meaning that there is millions of kids on the streets trying to survive.
The guest speaker had a assessment exercise for the class which was disappointing for me because I got 2 correct out of 6. I definitely learned from this exercise given to us by the guest speaker. I learned that there is 1.6 to 2.8 million of kids that runaway from home each year. There is 9,000 runaway/homeless youth on the streets of Chicago. There is only 3 emergency beds tat exist in Chicago for the non-ward runaway and homeless youth. According to NRS, most runaways survive on the streets because they receive assistance from friends/relative and the most cited reason why kids runaway from home is family problems. My guess was physical abuse. There is only 750 emergency youth shelters that exist in the U.S . The problem I have about the 750 shelters that exist is a shortage and is not enough to house these children which results in homelessness.The issue will continue to grow because if the rate of runways is from 1.6 to 2.8 million each year and the U.S only have 750 shelters available meaning that there is millions of kids on the streets trying to survive.
Prior to the presentation I had no knowledge of this group existing. As a child growing up I was around those who did attempted to runaway and eventually came back and those who ran and never came back. I work with minors everyday and with helping them and interacting with them there are so many legal barriers. I think the issue of runaways should be taught and reinforced all over the world so the home these kids live in can be as less hostile as possible.
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