The reasons kids leave home are many, but some studies suggest that as many as 90 percent of the youngsters who leave home do so because of child abuse. They have been physically, sexually, or emotionally hurt and taken advantage of. Youngsters who are abused are sometimes afraid to tell anyone they know. Some fear that they will get their abuser in trouble or will be hurt even more; some are embarrassed; some may have even been told they deserve the abuse. Sometimes, leaving home seems like the only answer.
Our Watchman House, Inc. family (staff) believes every kid should have choices regarding their personal safety. We know first-hand that once on the streets, young people are at even higher risk of being physically and/or sexually victimized and of self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to reduce emotional pain. Some even attempt suicide and often engage in acts of "survival" sex to meet their need for food, shelter, and clothing. We've come to realize that kids who are abused, homeless, being molested, at-risk kids, or in other crisis situations rarely eat properly and are sick most of the time. Many kids are forced to do things that place them in the greatest danger of getting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and AIDS.
If you talk to a street kid who has been on the streets for any period of time, they will tell you, for them, there is no tomorrow! Thirteen kids die on the streets every day from abuse, disease, and suicide. Children aren't living on the streets; they're dying! Kids are running away at the rate of 1 every minute. In the days that follow, as they continue to flee, they run into many things; drug dealers, pimps, perverts and pedophiles, STDs, and HIV. And some die! For many, the act of "running away" has become a "crash" of unbelievable proportions, such that recovery from the streets will take months and sometimes years. Our goal is to reach the kids before they reach that point!
Watchman House, Inc. is a Christian-based organization. However, we are open to youth and teens from all religious backgrounds. Our sole mission is to provide youth and teens with a S.A.F.E place to grow and thrive. NO KID who genuinely needs help will be turned away. Watchman House's mission is to help youth and teens regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, or background. At Watchman House, we simply refuse to leave a kid behind. We can reach even the hardest street kids through our persistence and dedication. Through this kind of persistence, dedication, and real pursuit, significant changes begin to occur for kids who really believe that we've forgotten them. Watchman House refuses to allow another child to fall through the crack!
We are making a difference, one child at a time!
We have also discovered there are abused single parents, who feel forced to abandon their child so the child can receive assistance through the foster care system. At Watchman House, a homeless single parent with a child(ren) will be given the opportunity to live with their child(ren) in one of the Dorm apartments FREE of charge until they can move without struggling to survive.
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