No young person wants to run away from home.
Sometimes, however, the situations a vulnerable child faces at home may make their living situation unbearable, leaving them with no choice but to run away.
The Children’s Society have recently released a report that investigates the reasons why a child or young person may decide to run away. The report has found that some of the most common reasons why a young person may run away include grooming, problems with family, abuse and drugs and alcohol.
Grooming
Exploiters can take advantage of children both online and offline, gaining a child’s trust and encouraging them to leave home. By creating this situation, it is easier for the exploiter to force the young person into a life of crime or sexually abuse them in exchange for a place to stay.
If you notice a young person seems to suddenly have lots of money or new items, with no way to explain how they paid for them, it may be possible that someone is giving the young person money and grooming them.
Problems with family
If a young person is constantly arguing with their family members, it can be difficult for that child to feel safe at home. It is normal for family members to disagree with each other occasionally, however when this is a daily occurrence, it may make the child feel seriously unhappy.
Arguments can occur on different topics ranging from issues such as pocket money to major reasons such as domestic abuse.
Abuse
The signs of child abuse can be extremely difficult to spot until it is too late. There are many different types of child abuse, including physical, mental and sexual abuse.
As such, signs of abuse can vary enormously from psychical indicators such as bruises and cuts to less obvious signs like reduced attendance at school.
Drugs and Alcohol
When people ask themselves why teenagers run away from home, one of the most common reasons that people think is that the child is abusing or addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Parental substance misuse is also a common reason as to why a young person may run away. Often, their home environment becomes unbearable due to their parent’s addiction. Either way, drug and alcohol abuse often bring adults and young people into contact with criminals and encourages a dependency which may be exploited by others.
A Wilderness Way
When children run away from home, it is much easier for criminals to take advantage of these young people and push them into a world of violence and illegal activity.
At A Wilderness Way, we provide a range of activities to support the young people within our care, some of which may have left home due to the reasons listed above. We support these young people with access to our Wilderness Experiences and crisis intervention. To find out more, email us on referrals@awwltd.com.