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‘Can I come home?’ The experiences of young runaways contacting the Message Home helpline
Author(s) -
Mitchell Fiona
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2206.2003.00264.x
Subject(s) - helpline , immediacy , distress , psychology , hotline , confidentiality , isolation (microbiology) , internet privacy , medicine , computer security , clinical psychology , computer science , telecommunications , emergency medicine , philosophy , epistemology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
This paper reports the findings of a 3‐month survey of young people calling the Message Home helpline. Message Home is a national freephone helpline available to people who have run away or left home which allows them to send a message to their family or carer, to seek confidential help and advice and, if necessary, to be helped to a place of safety. The paper explores the characteristics, circumstances and motivations of the young people contacting the helpline. It also considers who the young people contacted through the helpline and the kinds of messages that were relayed to parents, social services and others. This study differs from most preceding studies of runaways in recording the views of young people while they are missing. The immediacy palpable in their accounts highlights the distress and isolation experienced by many of these young people who have run away or been forced to leave home.