Friday, November 13, 2009 Txt 4 Help

November is National Runaway Prevention Month. Each year an estimated 2 million youth run away. Most young people do not run away to experience additional freedoms but rather are running away from a problem that they cannot solve, according to Department of Justice statistics from 2006. A Department of Justice study from 2002 indicates that 21 percent of runaway youth had been either physically or sexually abused within their homes within the year prior to their leaving.

The Sarasota Family YMCA and National Safe Place (NSP) is supporting the efforts of the National Runway Switchboard and the National Network for Youth in the fifth annual national public education campaign to raise awareness of youth runaway issues, and to educate Americans about solutions that help prevent youth from running away.

Now we’re joining a national initiative to provide youth with another way to access help. The Sarasota Family YMCA is part of the National Safe Place “Txt 4 Help” program, a 24-hour text-for-support service for youth in crisis. The “Txt 4 Help” program will make getting help for teens easier. Youth in crisis can text the word SAFE and their current location to the number 69866, and they will receive an address for the closest Safe Place site and contact number for the local youth shelter. We coordinate more than 150 Safe Place sites in Sarasota County. In cities that don’t yet have a Safe Place program, the youth will receive the name and number of the youth shelter. If there is not a Safe Place program or youth shelter, the youth will receive the number for the National Runaway Switchboard.

For more information about how to support youth in need, please call Cara Levitt at 941-952-1644.