Maurice’s Story
By Lashawnda M. Carter

"National Runaway Switchboard," Stacey, a front line team member answered. On the other end of the line was a quiet and hesitant young male’s voice. "Hello," Maurice said "Yes, I’m listening. Take your time," Stacey reassured him.

After a few moments of silence, 17-year old Maurice began to open up to Stacey about why he had called 1-800-RUNAWAY. He informed Stacey that a year ago he told his mother that he was gay. "Things were so bad when I first came out to my mom that I ran away. She had a hard time accepting me," he stated.

For several months Maurice had been going back and forth staying between his mother and his boyfriend. Eventually, Maurice’s mom became very supportive of him being gay; however, she was not supportive of the fact that his boyfriend was physically abusive to him. "She doesn’t approve at all of me being with him. And to make matters worse, she’s moving away," he explained. "I’m not sure what to do. I want to go with my mom, but I don’t want to leave my boyfriend."

Stacey listened to Maurice’s dilemma, she helped him discussed all of the possible options. Maurice realized that he had to make the final decision by looking at all of his options and weighing how each would affect him.

When the call ended, Maurice decided that the best option was to discuss the situation with his mom, as well as, distance himself from his boyfriend. "Thanks for talking to me. I’m still unsure about everything, but at least I came to a decision that I think is best," he said before he hung up.

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