Aiden's Story*
By Natasha Douglas, Public Ally
Aiden, a 16-year-old from Philadelphia, called the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) because he was exhausted, frustrated and needed a place to go. Frontline team member, Libby, answered Aiden’s call.
"I gotta get out of here. I can’t take this anymore," Aiden frantically explained.
"Can you tell me a little more about what’s going on?" Libby asked.
In the beginning, Aiden was very guarded about his situation. Eventually, he opened up.
Aiden revealed, "I don’t want to go into detail. I have been having problems at home, so I have been staying with my grandparents when things get really bad. My mom keeps calling the police on me, and the police make me go back home. She tells them I’m a runaway. I’m not going home this time. I’m not going back."
"Sounds like a really tough situation for you to be in," Libby reassured.
"Yea, the police could be coming to get me at any moment to take me back. I’m just not sure," replied Aiden.
"Why do you think your mother keeps calling the police on you?" asked Libby.
Aiden hesitantly divulged, "You are the first person I’m telling this to….I really don’t have much, you know. I mean I sleep in the basement on a mattress. I keep all my clothes in one suitcase. The only thing I really ever had that is my own is this TV my grandparents gave me. Well, my parents went through my things recently and tore up all my clothes. They stole the money I kept to get my haircut. They don’t provide for me, so I have to save up my money just to get my hair cut. They poured water on my TV—they did it just to hurt me. They probably used the money for drugs. I ran upstairs to ask them where my money was, and my dad choked me. I was able to get away from him and go to my grandparents’ house."
"You don’t deserve to be treated that way. Do you feel safe right now?" Libby asked.
Aiden replied, "Yes, I really just want to stay at my grandparents’ house. They take good care of me, but my parents won’t let me. They keep calling the police every time I come here. The police keep bringing me back to my parents’ house. You see, my grandparents used to have custody of me when my parents were in jail; they were both on drugs. When they got out of jail, my grandparents let me go live with them again, but my parents have not changed."
"It sounds like your grandparents care a lot about you. Are you looking to go someplace immediately?" asked Libby.
"Yes, I don’t want to go to a shelter, but I don’t feel like I have a choice because the police are going to make me go back again. My grandparents have papers proving that they are my legal guardians, but they can’t find them. Last time the police said that they would have to go to the courthouse and get another copy of the papers. For now, I need to go to a shelter," Aiden said.
Before contacting youth shelters, Libby explained that most shelters have parental notification or parental consent policies. She also explained that if Aiden told them about the abuse at home, the shelter would probably file a child abuse report. Aiden reluctantly decided, "I don’t want to get my parents in trouble. I mean I love them, but I can’t take this. I just can’t live like this anymore. You can go ahead and call."
After calling several youth shelters throughout Philadelphia, Libby finally located a shelter with a vacancy. Libby connected Aiden with the shelter’s intake coordinator, via a conference call. The intake coordinator interviewed him right away. Initially, Aiden vaguely alluded to the abuse at home but then he opened up and told his whole story. As a result, the intake coordinator agreed to admit him into the shelter and made arrangements for the shelter’s taxi to pick him up.
Aiden exclaimed to his grandmother who was in the room with him throughout his call, "Grandma, they got somewhere for me to stay! They’re going to come get me!" He then thanked the intake coordinator several times.
Before hanging up, the intake coordinator said, "I’m looking forward to meeting you Aiden." Aiden requested some legal advocacy resources from Libby, because his long-term plan was to prove that his grandparents are his legal guardians. After commending Aiden for his bravery, Libby reiterated that, if he need to, he can call the National Runaway Switchboard twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
*The names, photo, and location have been changed to protect anonymity of the caller.