1.3 million runaway and homeless teens live on the street. The movies make running away from home seem rebellious, exciting, and brave but not only is it extremely dangerous, it's a hard life that almost always ends badly. With parents or guardians at least you're guaranteed food and a home. Running away may mean no homework, rules, or chores, but for the vast majority of the 1.6 million teens who leave home each year it's a dead end. But by the time they figure it out their pride is to great or they're too embarrassed to go back home. Most runaways sleep in vacant buildings or park benches, eat out of trash cans or beg for food, or live in unsafe conditions with drug dealers or perverts in exchange for sexual favors or tasks. Soon, they become so desperate they do anything to survive- steal, sell drugs, or prostitute themselves, and for the fifty percent of homeless teens who are girls, the latter is almost always the case.
