Sofa surfing refers to the practice of moving from sofa to sofa in friends’ homes after a teen has either runaway or been kicked out of their own home. “Sofa surfing is a slang term that has been used in the youth runaway industry for many years,” said Dr. Harriet Boorhem, Executive Director of Promise House. “We wanted to take this term and this practice and use it to shed light on the severity of the teen runaway problem in Dallas.”

Every year, more than 6,000 teens run away from home in Dallas. On any given night more than 1,000 Dallas teens are either on the streets or sofa surfing from home to home. “Because there is not a centralized gathering place for runaway teens in Dallas, as there are in other large metropolitan communities, these teens in crisis are often difficult to find,” Boorhem said. “The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and shine a light on this invisible homeless population.”

More than 1.5 million teenagers runaway in the United States every year. To highlight the gravity of the problem, the U.S. Congress, in conjunction with the National Runaway Switchboard and the National Network for Youth, declared November as National Runaway Prevention Month. “Promise House is taking the lead in Dallas to be the voice of the teenage runaway population by informing the public what these kids are facing on a daily basis,” Boorhem said.

Promise House hopes to accomplish this task with a multimedia awareness platform throughout the month of November. More importantly, Promise House shows an extended commitment not only through its nine programs for at-risk youth and teens, but also with its recent appointment as Dallas County coordinator for National Safe Place where it celebrated early success in signing all 55 Dallas Fire Department stations as Safe Places.

The kickoff of the awareness campaign begins with a 10:00 a.m. press conference at City Hall on Nov. 2 where Mayor Tom Leppert, Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Elba Garcia and Dallas Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Tanksley will be present.

STATISTICS ON TEENAGE RUNAWAYS

• Over 6,000 teens run away each year in Dallas County.
• On any given night, there are over 1,000 teens either sofa surfing or on the street in Dallas.
• More girls than boys run away.
• More boys than girls end up living on the street.
• The average age of a runaway is 15.
• One in 20 families in Texas will have a teen run away from home each year.
• Nationally, there are 1.5 million teen runaways each year.
• 42 percent of youth aging out of the foster care system will be homeless in two years.
• Up to 40 percent of the runaway population consists of lesbian or gay youth who have been kicked out of their homes due to their sexual orientation.
• Five percent of runaways are teen parents who have a child with them.
• At least 10 percent of runaways will not return home and will try to survive on the street.

HOW CAN I HELP

• Help us make this invisible population seen by telling a friend about this website.
• Become a volunteer.
  • Serve as a role model
  • Have a holiday gift drive
  • Host a holiday party for the Promise House youth
  • Bake and decorate holiday treats with the kids
  • Hold a toiletry drive for the Street Outreach Program
  • Visit and play games or sports with the teens
• Become a donor and support the nine Promise House programs aimed at prevention, intervention and outreach to families in crisis.
• Support Promise House and its mission to stabilize and offer hope to youth and families in crisis with gifts of your time, talents and treasures. You can be the difference in a child’s life that keeps them alive and off the streets.