The United Kingdom looks to United States for assistance in helping thousands of runaway, homeless youth in England
National Runaway Switchboard Meets With Member of Parliament, Other UK Delegates During
Fact-Finding Visit to U.S.
CHICAGO (March 20, 2006) – A delegation from the United Kingdom visited the Chicago-based National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) today to further learn about the United State’s systematic approach to helping youth remain safe and off the streets.
Paul Burstow, Member of United Kingdom Parliament, representatives from the UK’s The Children’s Society, a detective chief inspector representing the UK’s law enforcement sector, and a former runaway youth were among the seven member delegation.
The UK party is on a fact-finding visit as part of The Children’s Society’s national Safe & Sound campaign to help runaway children in England. Today’s meeting served as an opportunity for the delegation to tap into NRS’ 35 years of experience in helping runaway and homeless youth.
“There are between 1.3 and 2.8 million runaway and homeless youth on the streets of America each year that have access to a network of resources, youth shelters, and healthcare through 1-800-RUNAWAY,” said Maureen Blaha, NRS executive director. “A network like this doesn’t currently exist in the UK. MP Burstow and the rest of the delegation are learning how we successfully link these youth to those resources, and how government funding along with private donations enables NRS to help millions of youth each year here in the U.S.”
Today’s visit to NRS included a tour of its call center, which handles more than 100,000 calls annually with runaway and at-risk youth and their families, a youth panel discussion with teen call center volunteers, and a question and answer session among the group of UK visitors and representatives from NRS.
According to Martin Houghton-Brown, The Children’s Society policy advisor, “Our Safe & Sound campaign is succeeding in gaining the support of the public and many politicians who are shocked that 100,000 children run away from home in Britain. Now we’re learning through NRS how a network of safe emergency accommodation can work in practice. Our visit to the USA is providing us with valuable learning that can help protect young runaways in Britain.”
MP Burstow will report back to parliamentarians at a meeting in May about his visit to the U.S. to share what he gathered from NRS.
“This trip is providing us with an opportunity to see first hand how services and support are provided in the U.S. for runaway children,” said MP Burstow. “We plan to take what we learn here in the U.S. to influence the debate and policy in the UK.”
In addition to meeting with members from NRS this week, the UK delegation is also scheduled to meet with members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the state’s Clearinghouse for Missing Children to discuss the role law enforcement plays in missing children cases in the U.S., and representatives from Family Youth Services Bureau, Administration on Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to discuss the importance of federal funding of youth programs.
The National Runaway Switchboard, established in 1971, serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. Recognized as the oldest hotline of its kind in the world, NRS, with the support of more than 150 volunteers, has handled more than 3 million calls in its 35-year history and handles an average of 100,000 calls annually. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, families and community members throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 10,000 youth have been reunited with their families through NRS’ Home Free program done in collaboration with Greyhound Lines, Inc. The NRS crisis hotline is
1-800-RUNAWAY. For more information, visit www.1800RUNAWAY.org.
