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Fact: A CASE OF CHILD ABUSE IS REPORTED EVERY 10 SECONDS!
Fact: 1 CHILD RUNS AWAY EVERY MINUTE OF EVERYDAY!
Fact: 13 CHILDREN DIE ON THE STREETS EVERYDAY!
Homelessness among youth is on the rise. Children make up 27 percent -- the fastest growing segment -- of the U.S. homeless population. Despite the obvious chance of danger children would rather run to the streets for safety than deal with the certainty of what awaits them at home, in foster care, or shelters. Independent studies report that once on the street.
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42% become involved in prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home to survive
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62% of youth on the streets attempt suicide at least once
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13 runaway youth will die on the streets every day from assaults, illness or suicide - totaling 5,000+ runaway deaths each year
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36% of the runaways have been on the streets more than three years
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Due to age runaways are left with four basic ways of survival: begging, stealing, selling drugs, and survival sex (prostitution).
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Survival sex/ promiscuity frequently leads to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
- Many runaways suffer from severe anxiety, depression, and hypervigilance.
- Kids who live on the streets do not have a safe place to sleep, don't eat often and are sick most of the time.
- Due to poor self-esteem, confidence issues, and no coping mechanisms drug/alcohol use and abuse becomes a means to cope and survive.
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Homeless youth face difficulties attending school because of legal guardianship requirements and proper records, and lack of transportation.
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Only a small percentage of homeless children and street youth will ever enroll in a shelter or social service agency for help because of fear of identification, legal entanglement, victimization, or being taken advantage of by self-serving organizations.
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