What is running away
Running away is when someone under the age of 16 runs away or is forced out from the place which is normally their home.
Why do Young People run away?
Young people run away for all sorts of reasons. Often it can be due to problems or arguments within the family or whoever the young person lives with and feeling like they just can’t cope anymore. These feelings can build up until it seems that the only way out is to run.
Other reasons young people have told us they run are:
Abuse – physical, sexual, emotional
Being “kicked out”
Being bullied
Alcohol or drugs misuse – either by the young person or someone close to them
Pregnancy
Getting into trouble and being worried what carers might say
Problems at school
Parents splitting up
Not getting on with mum or dad’s new partner
Death of someone close to the young person
Feeling depressed
Where do Young People who have run away go?
Some young people go and stay somewhere else e.g a friend or other family members in order to get some “time out” from whatever is bothering them. Others have nowhere to go and can find themselves on the streets, in closes or staying with people they’ve met when they have run. Others stay with strangers.
What is it like when you run away?
Running away may sometimes seem like the only option to get away from whoever or whatever is causing you pain or stress, but running away brings it’s own dangers and problems, some of which many young people have not been aware of or thought about before they run. We often hear from young people that they’ll “be ok” or they can “handle” it. In reality, young runways often find themselves facing situations that most adults would find scary and struggle to cope with.
Running away can be a very lonely and scary experience. Not having somewhere safe to stay, having no money, no food, being cold (sometimes wet), leads to many young people facing very frightening situations to get their basic needs met. For example, when you have nowhere safe to stay and have been sleeping in closes, it may seem like an alright idea to take up the warm bed that the guy you’ve met has offered you. But do you really know this person, how safe are they? It is estimated that 1 in 6 young people who run away are sexually or physically assaulted. Working with young people who run away, we hear that often, this is by people that they thought were helping them or were their friends.
Other situations young runaways may find themselves in involve committing crimes like stealing in order to get money and/or food, becoming involved with “gangs”, alcohol or drugs misuse (sometimes in order to try to forget the problems they have), having unprotected sex (sometimes for money), fighting/violence and even death.