National Runaway Awareness Month

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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Have you run away? Are you thinking about running
  away? Make a totally confidential call 24 hours a
  day. 1-888-580-HELP
• How can the Texas Runaway Hotline help me?
• They can talk with you about your problem,
  discuss your choices, and help you develop a
  sensible plan of action. They are also available
  if you want someone who will just listen.

• New Horizons STAR Program
• Helpline 1-877-261-3777

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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Who answers the Hotline?
• Trained staff and volunteers who really care
  about what happens to you. All calls are
  strictly confidential they are not with the
  police, wont tell you what to do, and do not
  have caller I.D.

• New Horizons STAR Program
• Helpline 1-877-261-3777

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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Will the call show up on my parents telephone
  bill?
• No. The number is toll-free so we pay for the
  call. There are no costs associated with
  services.

• New Horizons STAR Program
• Helpline 1-877-261-3777

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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Can I move out of my parents home at the age of
  17?
• In Texas, a new law went into effect September 1,
  1999. Call the Texas Runaway Hotline
  1-888-580-HELP and they will explain the law. If
  you would like, they will also discuss your
  options.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Does the Texas Runaway Hotline offer a
  confidential message service for runaways?
• For 30 years, the Hotline has offered a free
  message service so runaways can communicate with
  their parents if they are unwilling to talk with
  them directly. Again, all calls are strictly
  confidential. The goal is to promote
  communication between runaways and their families.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Runaway Facts
• Runaway teens, for the most part, are not bad
  kids.
• They are not running to something, but away from
  something.
• They believe their home situations to be so awful
  that living anywhere else is better even if this
  means living on the streets.
• Their home situation usually involves many
  problems, not one isolated problem.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Anyone may run away from home when home or school
  situations become unbearable to them.
• It is important to understand that a youths
  reason for leaving is unique to that individual.
  
• There is no such thing as a typical runaway.
• These kids come from every kind of neighborhood,
  rich or poor, suburban, rural, or urban.
• There is no differentiation between race or
  religion.
• One out of seven children will run away sometime
  between the ages of 10 and 18.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• Many runaways leave home more than once. The
  first time they run, they typically stay within
  300 miles of their home, usually with friends or
  relatives.
• As the length of time away from home increases,
  these youth often go to urban areas where they
  can blend in with other kids and are therefore
  less likely to be noticed by authority figures.
• They tend to hang out at fast food restaurants,
  shopping malls, and video arcades.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• They live in abandoned buildings or underneath
  highway bridges. In warmer climates, they may
  spend their days and nights on the beach or in
  parks.
• As bad as things may have been at home, runaways
  soon find life on the street even worse.

New Horizons STAR Program Helpline 1-877-261-3777
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• National Runaway Statistics and Sources
• Between 1.3 and 2.8 million runaway and homeless
  youth live on the streets of America each year.
• 1 in 7 youth will run away from home before the
  age of 18. 
• 1,234 youth run away from home every day.  
• Parental substance abuse is the largest predictor
  of runaway behavior in youth.
• Runaway/homeless youth are 50 male and 50
  female, though females are more likely to seek
  help through shelters and hotlines.
• Prior to leaving home, nearly one-half (43) of
  youth reported being beaten by a caretaker.  

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National Runaway Awareness Month

• National Runaway Statistics and Sources
• 41 of youth whove run away had been abandoned
  by their parents or caretakers for at least 24
  hours.  
• A little over a quarter of youth whove run from
  home have had parents or caretakers request
  sexual activity, and 32 have been forced to
  participate in sexual activity against their
  will.  
• 41 of females seeking shelter report being
  pregnant.  
• 75 of runaway and homeless youth have dropped
  out or will drop out of school.  
• 12 of runaway and homeless youth spend at least
  one night outside, in a park, on the street,
  under a bridge or overhang, or on a rooftop.
• 32 of runaway and homeless youth had attempted
  suicide at some point in their lives.

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National Runaway Awareness Month
Texas Calls to Hotline
Source National Runaway Switchboard Crisis Line
2005 Statistics
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National Runaway Awareness Month

• What can I do as a Parent, Teacher, Counselor,
  Principal, Church Member, Friend, Neighbor?
• Call New Horizons STAR Program Helpline
• 1-877-261-3777
• 0r
• Texas Runaway Hotline
• 1-888-580-HELP

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New Horizons STAR Program

• Serves families with children ages 0 to 17 years
  old. Our family Advocates are ready to offer
  crisis counseling, skills groups, and family
  advocacy to support you when family issues arise
  from the following situations
• Runaway Family Conflict
• Truancy Juvenile Delinquency
• Services are FREE
• Serving Brown, Coleman, Mills, San Saba,
  McCullough,
• Coleman, Taylor, and Jones Counties

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New Horizons STAR Program

• 1-877-261-3777
• Call 24 hours a day
• 7 days a week

Public Service Announcement brought to you by
Universal Child Abuse Prevention Specialist,
Leslie Deen. Funded by DFPS. For more
information about Universal Child Abuse
Prevention Services, email Leslie at
leslie_at_newhorizonsinc.com