Runaway Hotlines See Spike in Calls from Kids During COVID

Feb. 22, 2022 — The calls saved coming into the National Runaway Safeline throughout the pandemic: the determined children who needed to bike away from residence in the midst of the evening, the remoted youths who felt suicidal, the teenagers whose dad and mom had pressured them out of the home.

To the shock of consultants who assist runaway youths, the pandemic didn’t seem to provide an enormous rise or fall within the numbers of kids and teenagers who had left residence. Still, the disaster hit onerous. As faculties closed and households sheltered in place, youths reached out to the National Runaway Safeline to report heightened household conflicts and worsening psychological well being.

The Safeline, primarily based in Chicago, is the nation’s 24/7, federally designated communications system for runaway and homeless youths. Each 12 months, it makes about 125,000 connections with younger individuals and their relations by way of its hotline and different companies.

In a typical 12 months, teenagers ages 15-17 are the principle group that will get in contact by cellphone, dwell chat, e-mail, or an internet disaster discussion board, in keeping with Jeff Stern, chief engagement officer on the Safeline.

But previously 2 years, “contacts have skewed younger,” together with many extra youngsters beneath age 12.

“I think this is showing what a hit this is taking on young children,” he says.

Without faculty, sports activities, and different actions, youthful youngsters could be reaching out as a result of they’ve misplaced trusted sources of assist. Callers have been as younger as 9.

“Those ones stand out,” says a disaster heart supervisor who requested to go by Michael, which isn’t his actual title, to guard the privateness of his purchasers.

In November 2020, a baby posted within the disaster discussion board: “I’m 11 and my parents treat me poorly. They have told me many times to ‘kill myself’ and I didn’t let that settle well with me. … I have tried to run away one time from my house, but they found out, so they took my phone away and put screws on my windows so I couldn’t leave.”

Increasing numbers of kids advised Safeline counselors that their dad and mom have been emotionally or verbally abusive, whereas others reported bodily abuse. Some stated they skilled neglect, whereas others had been thrown out.

“We absolutely have had youths who have either been physically kicked out of the house or just verbally told to leave,” Michael says, “and then the kid does.”

Heightened Family Conflicts

The Safeline companions with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which, regardless of widespread public notion, doesn’t work primarily with baby abduction instances. Each 12 months, the middle assists with 29,000 to 31,000 instances, and 92% contain “endangered runaways,” says John Bischoff, vice chairman of the Missing Children Division. These youngsters may very well be working away from residence or foster care.

During the pandemic, the middle didn’t spot main modifications in its lacking baby numbers, “which honestly was shocking,” Bischoff says. “We figured we were either going to see an extreme rise or a decrease.”

“But the reasons for the run were changing,” he says.

Many youths have been fleeing out of frustration with quarantine restrictions, Bischoff says, in addition to frustration with the unknown and their very own lack of management over many conditions.

At the runaway hotline, calls have been longer and extra intense, with household issues topping the checklist of considerations. In 2019, about 57% of all contacts talked about household dynamics. In 2020, that quantity jumped to 88%, in keeping with Stern.

Some children sought assist for household issues that concerned faculty. In October 2020, one 13-year-old wrote within the Safeline discussion board: “My mom constantly yells at me for no reason. I want to leave, but I don’t know how. I have also been really stressed about school because they haven’t been giving me the grades I would normally receive during actual school. She thinks I’m lying and that I don’t care. I just need somebody to help me.”

Many adults are beneath large pressure, too, Michael says.

“Parents might have gotten COVID last month and haven’t been able to work for 2 weeks, and they’re missing a paycheck now. Money is tight, there might not be food, everyone’s angry at everything.”

During the pandemic, the National Runaway Safeline discovered a 16% enhance in contacts citing monetary challenges.

Some youngsters have felt confined in unsafe properties or have endured violence, as one 15-year-old reported within the discussion board: “I am the scapegoat out of four kids. Unfortunately, my mom has always been a toxic person. … I’m the only kid she still hits really hard. She’s left bruises and scratches recently. … I just have no solution to this.”

Worsening Mental Health

Besides household dynamics, psychological well being emerged as a prime concern that youths reported in 2020. “This is something notable. It increased by 30% just in one year,” Stern says.

In November 2020, a 16-year-old wrote: “I can’t ever go outside. I’ve been stuck in the house for a very long time now since quarantine started. I’m scared. … My mother has been taking her anger out on me emotionally. … I have severe depression and I need help. Please, if there’s any way I can get out of here, let me know.”

The Safeline additionally has seen an increase in suicide-related contacts. Among youngsters and teenagers who had cited a psychological well being concern, 18% stated they have been suicidal, Stern says. Most have been between ages 12 and 16, however some have been youthful than 12.

When youngsters couldn’t hang around with friends, they felt much more remoted if dad and mom confiscated their telephones, a typical punishment, Michael says.

During the winter of 2020-21, “It felt like almost every digital contact was a youth reaching out on their Chromebook because they had gotten their phone taken away and they were either suicidal or considering running away,” he says. “That’s kind of their entire social sphere getting taken away.”

Reality Check

Roughly 7 in 10 youths report nonetheless being at residence once they attain out to the Safeline. Among those that do depart, Michael says, “They’re going sometimes to friends’ houses, oftentimes to a significant other’s house, sometimes to extended family members’ houses. Often, they don’t have a place that they’re planning to go. They just left, and that’s why they’re calling us.”

While some youths have been afraid of catching COVID-19 generally, the coronavirus menace hasn’t deterred those that have determined to run away, Michael says. “Usually, they’re more worried about being returned home.”

Many can’t comprehend the dangers of setting off on their very own.

In October 2021, a boy, 15, posted on the discussion board that his verbally abusive dad and mom had known as him a mistake and stated they couldn’t look ahead to him to maneuver out.

“So I’m going to make their dreams come true,” he wrote. “I’m going to go live in California with my friend who is a young YouTuber. I need help getting money to either fly or get a bus ticket, even though I’m all right with trying to ride a bike or fixing my dirt bike and getting the wagon to pull my stuff. But I’m looking for apartments in Los Angeles so I’m not living on the streets and I’m looking for a job. Please help me. My friend can’t send me money because I don’t have a bank account.”

“Often,” Michael says, “we’re reality-checking kids who want to hitchhike 5 hours away to either a friend’s or the closest shelter that we could find them. Or walk for 5 hours at 3 a.m. or bike, so we try to safety-check that.”

Another concern: on-line enticement by predators. During the pandemic, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children noticed instances wherein youngsters ran away from residence “to go meet with someone who may not be who they thought they were talking to online,” Bischoff says. “It’s certainly something we’re keeping a close eye on.”

Fewer Resources within the Pandemic

The National Runaway Safeline offers data and referrals to different hotlines and companies, together with suicide prevention and psychological well being organizations. When youths have already run away and don’t have any place to go, Michael says, the Safeline tries to search out shelter choices or hunt down a relative who can present a protected place to remain.

But discovering shelters turned more durable throughout the pandemic, when many had no room or shelter provide was restricted. Some needed to shut down for COVID-19-related deep cleanings, Michael says. Helping youths discover transportation, particularly with public transportation shutdowns, additionally was powerful.

The Huckleberry House, a six-bed youth shelter in San Francisco, has stayed open all through the pandemic with restricted staffing, says Douglas Styles, PsyD. He’s the chief director of the Huckleberry Youth Programs, which runs the home.

The shelter, which serves Bay Area runaway and homeless youths ages 12-17, hasn’t seen an general spike in demand, Styles says. But “what’s expanded is undocumented [youths] and young people who don’t have any family connections in the area, so they’re unaccompanied as well. We’ve seen that here and there throughout the years, but during the pandemic, that population has actually increased quite a bit.”

The Huckleberry House has sheltered youngsters and teenagers who’ve run away from all types of properties, together with prosperous ones, Styles says.

Once youngsters depart residence, the shortage of grownup supervision leaves them susceptible. They face a number of risks, together with baby intercourse trafficking and exploitation, substance abuse, gang involvement, and violence. “As an organization, that scares us,” Bischoff says. “What’s happening at home, we’ll sort that out. The biggest thing we as an organization are trying to do is locate them and ensure their safety.”

To assist runaways and their households get in contact, the National Runaway Safeline offers a message service and convention calling. “We can play the middleman, really acting on behalf of the young person — not because they’re right or wrong, but to ensure that their voice is really heard,” Stern says.

Through its nationwide Home Free program, the Safeline companions with Greyhound to convey youngsters again residence or into another, protected dwelling surroundings by offering a free bus ticket.

These days, know-how can expose youngsters to hurt on-line, however it will probably additionally pace their return residence.

“When I was growing up, if you weren’t home by 5 o’clock, Mom would start to worry, but she really didn’t have any way of reaching you,” Bischoff says. “More children today have cellphones. More children are easily reachable. That’s a benefit.”