Runaways: Victims At Home and On The Streets Every day across the country children are leaving home for a future of danger and uncertainty on the streets. For most, the time away from home is short and mostly uneventful. For others, a life on the streets turns tragic when they realize that what once seemed like a solution soon becomes another situation from which they must escape. If the problem of teenage runaways is to be understood and possibly prevented, parents need to know what makes teens run away, some of the consequences of running away, and what help is available for teenagers who choose to run away from home. For parents, the reasons why a teenager needs to run away are very important.