ge in prostitution.Others deal drugs. Most find themselves caught in a daily struggle to beg, borrow, hustle, andsteal what they need. Today, another 15 of these kids will die.I think that the problem of teen runaways is a big social issue, considering the fact that 1to 1.5 million kids run away from home each year “(Runaways and Throwaways, general”). The government estimated that number will increase continually. Since 55% of runaways see no socialservice agency as helpful or appealing (“Runaways and Throwaways, general”), I think that weshould advertise these programs more, like on billboards and TV’s. I know that I personally don’tsee them as much as we need to. And we need to let kids and teens know that running away fromhome is not the answer and that it can only get worse. Trying to runaway from their problems canbring on more life-threatening issues than a new mother or father, or trouble at school. You canget help and fix these small problems, but you cannot get rid of an STD, or even death. Runningaway can cause homelessness, which is presented as the social crisis of the decade (Stavsky 166).These are a few stories in which I came across while doing my research, and I thought thatthey were really sad, and so I wanted to add them in this paper.*Stacey Artiz Carron (15) has lived in a dozen welfare hotels and city shelters since shewas eight years old. She knows that the “security” guards are more dangerous than the pushersoutside. She prefers to sleep in the bus station where it’s safer. She has three brothers and twosisters. Her mother left when she was four, and her father is now somewhere in jail. And she’s anhonor roll student at school (Stavsky 23).*13 year old Anita Santos is lying on the living room floor eating corn chips and watchinglate-night reruns of “The Honeymooners.” In comes her drunk father to end her innocence andher ability to live at ho...
