Kristina’s Story

Kristina called the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) after she and her one year old child were kicked her out of the house on her 18th birthday three months ago. In that time, Kristina had been sleeping on couches and floors at friends and recent acquaintances' houses. She stated that she could generally only stay at a specific location for a day or two before having to move on. Kristina also expressed that at times she didn't feel safe staying with people she didn't know, but felt she didn't have any other choices.

Because of the instability in her life, Kristina lost her minimum wage job and no longer had any income to support her and her child. Kristina heard that there were places that help teen mothers like her, but was having a difficult time locating them. She had been calling around to different agencies but found that she either didn’t qualify for their services or they didn’t have any space for her.

When Kristina called 1-800-RUNAWAY, she was upset and fearful that she and her child would end up on the streets, and asked if there was any way that NRS could help. Frontline team member, Patrick, explained that there were several resources in her city in the NRS database and would be happy to call agencies until he could help her find one that was able to assist her. Patrick spent a long time calling local resources and ran into the same problems Kristina had experienced. All the shelters were full, or Kristina didn’t qualify for their services. However, he did not give up his advocacy for Kristina and eventually found an agency that not only had space for Kristina and her child, but was also willing to work with her to help her find a new job and become self-supporting. Patrick made a conference call with the shelter and Kristina, who felt it was a good fit for her and her child.

After disconnecting with the shelter, Patrick talked to Kristina about a safe way to get to the shelter and ensured that she had a plan in which she was comfortable. Kristina thanked him for helping her. He wished Kristina good luck and made sure she knew that she was welcome to call NRS back anytime.

*The names, photo, and location have been changed to protect anonymity of the caller.