They offer help to teens at the end of the line

At some point, many young people imagine themselves running away from home. But 15-year-old Laura Sugalski of Lakewood, Ohio, actually did it.

Her home life was pretty rocky two years ago when things finally snapped. Her mother confronted her about whether she had stolen some money. Ashamed and embarrassed to admit what she'd done, Laura took off.

For the next five days, with a little assistance from friends, one of whom dropped her off in nearby Cleveland, she lived on the streets.

Cold and scared, she cut off her hair to disguise her identity, and ate only one real meal during those five days, losing 11 pounds in the process.

But Laura is one of the fortunate ones. She called the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) and got help to start solving her problems. In less than a week, she was back home.

Not every runaway asks for help, though.

In fact, only about 5 percent of the estimated 1.3 to 2.8 million runaways and homeless youths call the hot line. But for those who do, it is an important lifeline.

About 120,000 calls come in each year to the NRS's toll-free number (800-621-4000), which is staffed around the clock in Chicago by a group of 140 volunteers. Each receives 36 hours of training in handling calls, not only from runaways, but also from parents looking for missing children, and sometimes from counselors, teachers, and friends of the youths.

When 17-year-old Bryan Gleason reports for duty at the hot line's offices, his own cares go on hold while answering calls from desperate teens and parents from around the country.

"It's a lot different from your normal conversations," says the young volunteer. "You're not thinking about yourself whatsoever. You're totally focused on the call ... and figuring out how a caller can stay somewhere or how they can get home."

While some callers immediately ask for information, others just want someone to talk to. At first, they may be so reluctant to speak that they hang up or remain silent.

That's when Bryan gently breaks the ice. He draws out callers and learns details of their situations, but as required by the switchboard, he avoids giving advice.

Listening to grim stories, he chooses his words carefully. "I might say, 'That must have been hard to deal with.' That sounds really simplistic, but maybe the caller has not gotten any sort of support, and hearing that is a big thing for them. We may not have directly comforted them, but they now have something on their horizon that may make their outlook a little brighter."

"The most dangerous ages for runaways seem to be from 14 to 16," says Judy Lichtman, the mother of a former runaway who compiles runaway stories and links on her Teens in Trouble website. "At that age, there is a disconnect between actions and consequences, a heady new sense of independence, and a focus on their peers and away from family. Combine all this with raging hormones, and it's a recipe for running."

Having said this, however, she doesn't want to leave the impression that runaways are just rebelling or looking for adventure. They often face grim situations.

Most runaways are fleeing unbearable family situations, according to Positive Alternatives Inc., a service organization for youth and families in Wisconsin. Most often the kids are trying to escape broken homes and domestic relationships that include physical, sexual, alcohol, or drug abuse.

To help discover which of these may be a problem, volunteers manning the hot line ask the young people who phone in why they called and what's going on in their lives. The volunteer's job is to try to ensure that young people and their families have access to resources in their communities. In some cases they arrange and mediate reunions, but they don't necessarily encourage teens to return home.

"It really depends on what the caller is telling us," says Maureen Blaha, executive director of the NRS. "In some cases, going home is really not an option. In those situations we link them to resources in the community that would provide them with safety and shelter."

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