Running away

Around 77,000 children under 16 run away from home every year. One in eight young people were physically hurt and one in nine sexually assaulted while they are away.

If you know someone who may be affected by this issue, our advice can help you support them.

Why do young people run away?

Help for children thinking of running away

Help for adults if a child has run away

Further help and support

Why do young people run away?

There are lots of reasons why young people decide to run away. They could be:

being bullied
having relationship (or sex) problems
lonely
having trouble with their parents, or fear of being thrown out of home
living in care
being abused.

If they have run away, they will probably be without support and at risk.

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Help for children thinking of running away

If you know a child who is thinking of running away, they can call ChildLine on 0800 1111. We help them to:

explore the options should they actually decide to leave
find out if there are organisations nearby that can help
talk through what their rights are if they choose to leave and how social services can help.

There is specific advice for young people thinking about running away on the ChildLine website.

Help for adults if a child has run away

If you need advice because you are the parent or friend of a young person who has run away, call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.

Our trained counsellors are available to offer support to parents and carers of runaways. If you are still in contact with the young person, we can put them in touch with local social services who should be able to offer help, including finding a place for them to stay. Where requested or necessary, we will ask the police to help in trying to make sure the young person is safe. You can talk to our advisors for as long as you need to.

The Helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All calls are free, unless you're calling from a mobile phone.

Further help and support

There is plenty of support available. We can put you in touch with other organisations, drop-in centres and other sources of help throughout the UK. Here are some useful contacts:

Runaway Helpline
A confidential freefone helpline for anyone aged 17 or under who has run away or been forced to leave home or care.

Tel: 0808 800 7070 | Email: help@runawayhelpline.org.uk

Website: www.runawayhelpline.org.uk

Alone in London Service

Tel: 020 7278 4224 | Email: alone@als.org.uk

Website: www.als.org.uk

Centrepoint

Tel: 020 7426 5300 | Website: www.centrepoint.org.uk

ChildLine

Tel: 0800 11 11 | Website: www.childline.org.uk

Crisis

Tel: 020 7665 8300 | Email: enquiries@crisis.org.uk