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Sacramento is not an extremely large city compared to many other urban areas in America. Despite its size, the capitol of California does have an abundance of runways residing there.

Recent estimates put the number at 1,800 or more. Is this a typical number of runaways in a city its size? Probably not.

Sacramento has more services for homeless youth than most cities. From a shelter where they sleep, are able to take showers and eat meals to work and study programs designed to get the kids on their feet and off the street, the city has got it going.

There certainly is no decrease in teen runaways, but the country seems to be responding to their predicament with more positive programs. Austin, Las Vegas and Flint, Michigan are three other progressive cities that, like Sacramento, have particular outreaches for runaways.

And offering more services to people who are not yet of legal age may be the best answer to a bad as quickly as possible through some of these programs.
Why should we spend tax money to take runaways off the street and make them productive citizens? The best reason is the old axiom, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later." Shelters are a lot less expensive to run than prisons.

Allowed to fend for themselves, runaways tend to get in trouble. They commit crimes to survive because they can't legally get jobs. The price of adjudicating their transgressions and keeping them locked up is a lot more than it costs to make them capable of independent living.

It is a sad fact that most career criminals incarcerated in our country's state and federal prisons were once teen runaways. The decision to leave home in their adolescent years had a devastating effect on their lives. More Americans are housed in our prisons than the citizens of any first world country.

It is imperative that we as a society intervene in the lives of teens who are contemplating running away. There are several viable and productive programs that seem to work:

Sheltered workshops where runaways may learn and earn.

Drop-in centers where runaways can receive meals, shelter and guidance.

Alternative education centers that will provide flexible class schedules the runaway can adjust to.

Renovation of abandoned inner city buildings runaways can live in and learn construction skills.

A specially trained runaway police unit that can evaluate the causes of the youth's status and place them with the appropriate social service agency.

Running away is a last resort many teens use to extricate themselves from situations that in their minds are not healthy for them. We need to assess the reasons these kids are running away and insure they don't repeat themselves.

That means we must respect the right of the teen to alleviate the pain he feels can only be ended by running away and at the same time acknowledge the parent's rights and responsibilities. It is a thin tightrope to walk. All too often, runaways tell authorities they ran to protect themselves from a sexually or physically abusive situation and then find themselves being sent back into that situation.

Perhaps it is time for juvenile courts to consider a more liberal emancipation policy and to allow runaways to appear before the judge and plead their cases. One thing is certain, nothing society has done in the past has decreased the runaway rate.

Learn more about this author, Mace Spurlock.
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