Several years ago, I became interested in the issues of missing and runaway children. An acquaintance of mine, who knew of my concerns, introduced me to a young woman from Stockbridge.

We met in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park and I brought along my tape recorder. Her story was one of the most explicit tales of a runaway child that I had ever heard.

At twelve years of age, this young woman ran away from her family, hundreds of miles away to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Hitching rides from truckers, she arrived at her destination, lucky to be alive. Between trips she was raped and abandoned several times.

Things did not get better, as she found herself hungry and homeless in California. After days of barely surviving, she became caught up in the streets, making her living as a prostitute. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Las Vegas, where she found herself embedded in a slavery ring.

Somehow, with a lot of luck and God’s help, she made it back home to Stockbridge. I always tell her how special she must be to have survived what many others do not. She is lucky to have lived to see her own kids grow up healthy, as runaway children die in great numbers each year.

A former Mayor of Atlanta once said “If we don’t save our children, our business board rooms will be like Samson without sight.” My thought was that if we don’t save our children, their future will be in jails, hospitals, and morgues.

The last statistics that I received on Georgia runaways was 5,000 per year. Most runaway/throwaway youth (68 percent) were older teens, ages 15-17. At these ages, youth are often more independent, tend to resist parental authority, are more likely to become involved in activities that bring them into conflict with their caretakers, and are often viewed by their caretakers as being capable of living on their own. All these things may increase the likelihood of runaway/throwaway episodes.

Federal statistics indicate that a somewhat larger number of runaway/throwaway episodes occur during summer, a time when young people are more mobile and less constrained by weather and school activities. Approximately 23 percent of runaways/throwaways traveled a distance of 50 miles or more from home, and 9 percent left their state in the course of an episode. Most runaway/throwaway youth were gone less than 1 week (77 percent), with 7 percent away for more than a month.

Additionally, recent statistics indicate that persons under 18 commit 15 percent of all murders, 17 percent of all rapes, and 32.1 percent of all robberies.

If you are having a problem with your teenager who stays out all night, drops out of school, or is frequently intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, get help before it is too late. Talk to your kids and give them quality time. Concern yourself with your children’s use of the phone, the computer, and pager/voice mail services.

Consult with your pastor, rabbi or school guidance counselor.

One of the larger programs for runaway children in Georgia is the Girls and Boys Town of Georgia, which you may contact at:

2591 Candler Road
Decatur, GA 30032
Phone: 404-241-4950
Fax: 404-241-1078

Another resource is the National Runaway Hotline at 1.800.621.4000.