Runaway and Homeless Youth

Laurie Jackson, the new executive director of National Safe Place, discusses her plans to carry the organization’s mission forward.
Date: 10/18/2010 | Time: 4:02 | Size: 2.6 MB Laurie Jackson, the new executive director of National Safe Place, discusses her plans to carry the organization’s mission forward.
From the Empire State Building to the streets of Chicago and across the country, buildings and front porches will glow green this November as part of the National Runaway Switchboard’s Green Light Project.  
For years, social services agencies have been raising the alarm at how hard rural and suburban families have been hit by the recession. Now, they have some numbers to support their case. Between 2007 and 2008, the percentage of homeless families entering suburban and rural shelters funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development increased by 9 percentage points.
The child of drug addicts, Celina spent three years being shuffled between other people’s houses in southern Colorado, crashing on floors and sofas and not knowing where she’d be sleeping the next night. Through all that, she never thought of herself as homeless.
Las víctimas vienen de ciudades, suburbios y pequeños pueblos de todo el país, y representan todas las razas, grupos étnicos y grupos socio-económicos. Aun así, ciertos jóvenes tienen más probabilidad de ser convertidos en víctimas:
Prostitución. Pornografía. Sexo para sobrevivir. La explotación sexual con fines comerciales es más que simplemente personas jóvenes sufriendo abuso sexual a manos de adultos. Los perpetradores convierten a los jóvenes en víctimas cuando pagan, o prometen pagar, dinero, productos o servicios a un joven o a su chulo (“pimp”) a cambio...
The transition to adulthood and personal independence can be challenging even for youth with supportive families and a financial safety net. Three recently released studies focus on the specific needs of foster-care youth, homeless teens and high school dropouts.
The executive director of the National Runaway Switchboard answers our questions about "Why They Run: An In-depth Look at America’s Runaway Youth."  
1. Describe your housing needs:
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National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth | 5515 Security Lane, Suite 800 | North Bethesda, MD 20852 | (301) 608-8098 | ncfy@acf.hhs.gov