How to Use the National Runaway Hotline
Over a million teens leave home each year. Alone in a strange area, runaway teens may encounter drug pushers, thieves, pimps and other dangerous characters. For many teenagers, National Runaway Hotline provides a lifeline and a path back home.
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Instructions
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Call the National Runaway Hotline (1-800-RUNAWAY) if you're still at home and considering running away. Sometimes an impartial third party can get through to combative parents and teenagers by offering calm and common sense.
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Call from a pay phone, private phone or a cell phone if you're alone in a strange city. Find a safe place and call for information on where to find safe shelter or medical care. The National Runaway Hotline counselor can also help you to get in touch with parents and other friends or relatives.
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Contact the hotline if you're a parent in search of a missing or runaway child. Even if you've pursued the police and other resources, your child may have left a message with the hotline. Call to check and leave your own message. The hotline can mediate a conference call between you and your child.
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Keep in touch with the hotline regularly if you're a runaway who isn't ready to return home yet. The hotline will always assist you and help you to get back home.
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Post the number in your office or the local area if you work with troubled teens. By using the preventive aspect of the runaway hotline, kids become aware of the repercussions of running away before they do something rash.
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