Chad’s Story
By Lashawnda M. Carter
Chad, an eighteen-year old from Missouri, finally decided to call 1-800-RUNAWAY after a month of being on the streets. He had found a wallet card on the floor in the hallway of his high school a few weeks before he made the call.
"National Runaway Switchboard," answered frontline team member Tasha.
Chad was reluctant to speak at first, but then said, "Hi. I think I need help."
"Okay, I am here to help you," confirmed Tasha.
"Well, I’m not sure how you can help, but I found a wallet card with your number on it and it said that if I call you, you can help me," Chad explained. "I moved out of my parents’ house about a month ago. It was cool at first, but now I have no place to go."
"I’m sorry to hear that," said Tasha. "Are you in a safe place right now?" she asked.
"Yeah, I’m at my high school. But I don’t have anywhere to go tonight," Chad said.
He explained he left home because his parents were always fighting and drank heavily. When he left, he was just going to spend the night over at a friend’s house for the weekend. Being at his friend’s house, where no one argued or fought, made him feel safe. After he stayed at his friend’s house for a week, he went and crashed at a different friend’s house for another week. Unfortunately, he had outstayed his welcome and his friends’ parents wanted him to go back home.
"I don’t want to go back home," Chad said. "Whenever I’m at home I get depressed. I feel like one of these days my parents will get drunk and take out their anger on me."
Chad told Tasha that he had been sleeping on the bathroom floor of a 24-hour convenience store for the past couple of weeks, but a store clerk caught him the night before; he no longer had any place to stay.
"I am glad that you decided to contact 1-800-RUNAWAY for help," said Tasha.
"Let’s go through some options to determine what will work best for you and your situation."
"Are you going to call the police or my parents?" Chad asked. "I do not want to go back home."
"No I will not call anyone you do not want me to call. Our conversation is totally anonymous and confidential," Tasha assured him.
"Okay," Chad said with a sigh of relief. "What type of options do I have?"
Tasha and Chad talked a little while longer discussing various options for him. Chad decided that the best option was to go to the local homeless youth shelter for the night to get something to eat, a shower and a place to sleep. Tasha also did a conference call with him and the shelter’s transitional living program. The program could be a more permanent place to live that would also help him to finish school and develop skills to transition into independent living.
"Thank you so much for helping me. I was nervous to call at first because I thought you would make me go back home," Chad said. "I’m glad I called."
"I’m also glad that you called. We are always available if you ever need help again," said Tasha.
*The names, photo, and location have been changed to protect anonymity of the caller.