Help for troubled teens and their families

Being a teenager is hard. We all know because we have all been through it ourselves. It is a time when you are figuring out who you are (or at least who you think you are) and gaining your own independence. Some kids aren’t affected as much and either make decent decisions (or at least learn from their mistakes) and are somewhat happy with their lives. For others, it is a very difficult road not only for the teenager, but for the parents as well. Whether it is a stage of rebelliousness, choosing to take drugs, having sex, or being unhappy with their body, teenagers have a lot of challenges to overcome.

A lot of teenagers don’t get along with their parents, and think that they would be happier somewhere else. The National Network for Youth estimates about 1.3 million teenagers run away from home each year. Studies show that over half of them returned home. But what about those that did not?

When I was a teenager, I did the same thing. After a huge blowout with my parents, I ran away from home and stayed with a friend for a week. After searching high and low for me, my parents were worried sick. When I finally came home they were upset but they were so glad to see me that I felt happy to be back home. I was very lucky. I had a place to stay with people who cared about me. The situation could have been very different. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized what I had truly put them through.

For many of the teenagers who run away and don’t return home, it is the start of the downhill spiral. Most get involved with drugs, gangs, prostitution, etc. Some are abducted and some are killed. As a parent myself, the thought of my teenager running away and living on the streets is heart wrenching. I can’t imagine the pain for those parents who don’t ever see their children again. Thankfully there are resources out there to help them and keep them safe until they can become reunited with their families.

Our government recognizes that this is a problem here in the U.S. and sets aside grant money each year to fund programs to help these troubled youth. There are a variety of programs that receive this grant funding, not only runaways but also other at risk teenagers and their families. Some of the programs include: Runaway and homeless youth housing facilities and job training programs, abstinence educational programs, teenage pregnancy and adoption programs, street outreach and drug programs and much more.

For the families of troubled or runaway teens at least there is some comfort knowing that there are some resources out there to help them. The only difficulty is getting the information out there, so the families know they have help to deal with the issues that teenagers face, and the kids know that there are adults out there that they don’t have to be afraid of that will help them.

For more information on grants go to http://www.grantgenerator.com to search for all of the different grant money that is available. For more information on the programs that help troubled teens and their families go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs and do a search for “teen”