What Can FYSB’s Network of Support for Runaway and Homeless Youth Do for You?

Hundreds of organizations around the country work hard every day to give shelter, food, counseling and support to young people who have run away or become homeless.

The Family and Youth Services Bureau funds many of those programs. It also provides a network of support services: a national hotline for runaway youth, a training and technical assistance center, and us—the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth.

Recently, FYSB’s network of support for runaway and homeless youth organizations worked together to help a young man cross borders and get back home. Read on to find out how.

Andy’s Story

“Andy” was a runaway youth, on his own in New York and yearning to reconnect with his family. Trouble was, they were in Mexico City, where Andy had grown up. He was undocumented and nervous that asking for help would lead to trouble with immigration officials.

Andy’s immigration status did not get in the way of him getting help from FYSB’s network of services for runaway and homeless youth. FYSB does not require youth served by the network to disclose their legal status in the United States.

The Network Steps In

Here’s how the FYSB network sprang into action:

• A FYSB-funded runaway and homeless youth program in New York gave Andy a place to stay.
• The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers researched his various options for getting from New York to Texas, where he could reunite with his family.
• The National Runaway Switchboard helped Andy get a free bus ticket to Texas through “Home Free,” a partnership with Greyhound Lines.
• A FYSB-funded runaway and homeless youth program on the Texas-Mexico border welcomed Andy when he arrived on the Greyhound from New York.

Andy crossed the border and reunited with his family one day later.

Need Help?

If you need to help a young person in crisis, call 1-800-RUNAWAY, or go to the National Runaway Switchboard’s live chat.

If you’re a Runaway and Homeless Youth Program grantee in need of training or technical assistance, call RHYTTAC at 1 (800) 806-2711, or go to their website.

If you need general information about starting, running or funding a youth program, call NCFY at (301) 608-8098, or request a live chat.

If you need to find a runaway and homeless youth program near you (or somewhere else in the country), go to the FYSB grantee map.