Everybody knows the rules: They have to pack up and head back to the streets by 8 p.m. It isn't easy, reminding homeless teens that it's time to go. Most will spend the night in abandoned buildings, find unlocked cars to sleep in, or simply walk around until morning.
"It's hard to make them leave at night, but at least they have a safe place to come during the day," says Teresa Robison. "These kids are survivors. They've seen and done things that most of us can't imagine going through in a lifetime."
Teresa, a Salt Lake City paralegal, is a volunteer at Salt Lake City's Homeless Youth Resource Center, a drop-in haven for teens run by Volunteers of America. For three years she's been a substitute "mom" for young people on the run — some by choice, most because nobody in their families wanted to look after them.
"We see more 'throwaways' than runaways," says Teresa, 45, who wanted to share some Free Lunch time at the center, hoping to convince the public to reach out to homeless young people rather than ignore them or label them as "bums."
"Some of these kids have parents who were put in prison or died," she says. "Some of them have seen their moms or dads murdered. There are even cases where a parent has remarried and skipped town. When foster care doesn't work out, the kids hit the streets."
Ranging in age from 15 to 23, most of the youths who come to the resource center are from other states, staying in town for a few months before hopping a train or hitchhiking to other towns, always searching for something better.
Many are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and most never graduated from high school. At the center on State Street, they'll find hot meals and showers, a warm place to nap or read for a few hours and people hoping to help them kick bad habits and earn GEDs.
"Because they've been hurt so many times, they don't trust adults," says Teresa. "It takes a long time for these kids to open up. I learned pretty fast not to judge them."
A petite woman with a warm, soothing demeanor, Teresa can relate to the plight of street kids better than most. Several years ago her teenage son ran away from an alcohol-treatment program and disappeared for two years.
"I tried everything to find him and finally provided the police with dental records," she says quietly. "I decided that I'd rather know if he'd died than not know."
Teresa painfully went on with her life. Then one day, a friend left her an incredible message: Her son's picture had been spotted in a national snowboarding magazine. Teresa eventually tracked him down in Mammoth, Calif., and drove out to bring him home.
Although her son still struggles with addictions, "I understand him better now because of my work with the kids," she says. "I see now what he was going through while he was gone."
When "throwaway" teens at the center hear Teresa's story, they're always amazed. "They'll say, 'Your son had a home and he left it? He had his own room and he ran away?'
"It's mind-boggling to them, because most of them never had a choice," says Teresa.
"These kids are living out of Dumpsters, and some of them have been in trouble with the law," she says. "But we can't give up on them. They deserve to be treated like human beings."
When the youth center's doors are locked each night and the teens are sent searching for a place to sleep, "the least we can do is send them out knowing that they have value."
Those interested in helping the Homeless Youth Resource Center can call 364-0744.
Have a story? Let's hear it over lunch. E-mail your name, phone number and what you'd like to talk about to freelunch@desnews.com. You can also write me at the Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.