Mary. A 13-year-old who ran away from a nice home in the suburbs after a fight with mom. Today she found a teddy bear on the street. She hugs it tightly as she sobs and tries to sleep in an alleyway. She prays she will be safe. She misses home. She tried calling her mother earlier tonight. But her mother hung up on her again. She wants to give up, wants to die. She doesn't know what she is going to do. She refuses an offer of help. We do not see her again. 

Carlos. A 14-year-old far from his home in Mexico. Now he sleeps on dirty blankets beneath a concrete bridge next to a park. The park attracts men in business suits who drive fancy cars. They circle day and night looking for children like Carlos who prostitute themselves and sell drugs. One man who picked up Carlos recently took the youth back to his suburban home, where he let Carlos play video games afterwards. We have not seen Carlos since he told us that story. 

Andrew. An attractive 15-year-old dressed in drag, his hand on his hip, trying to lure a trick. Andrew had a home until his mother was arrested on a parole violation. With her in jail, that left him alone with an abusive uncle. Too abusive. So Andrew took to the street, turning to prostitution to survive, turning to drugs to cope. We saw Andrew in the same park almost every other weekend for the next year as we walked the streets in his town. We gave him our 24-hour pager number in case he ever needed assistance. He called it almost a dozen times before deciding to quit drugs and change his life. Now Andrew is sober, sleeps under a roof, and is studying for college. 

Off the Street: 

Former Street Kids in Their Own Words 

--Cindy 
 
 

"Thank you oh-so-very much for the help you offer me and my family. It is very much appreciated and needed because it is very difficult at times to have the money for the most necessary things, such as diapers and clothes. I am very grateful. Keep up the love and care. A lot of moms, such as myself, need the extra help badly." 

--Terri 
 
 

"I'm a free and sober man writing this letter! But I'm still trying to get used to society...I've made some real important and drastic changes in my life in such a short time. But I'm moving on into the future (finally). Last week I moved home to take care of my sick father, who doesn't have much time left because of cancer." 

--Rodney 
 
 

"If it wasn't for StandUp For Kids, I don't know where I'd be -- probably dead." 

--Andrew 
 
 

"You teach people to get their act together by example, not by lecture. It wasn't , 'You should get off drugs.' It was, 'How do you feel?'" 

--John 
 
 

Names have been changed to protect identities.