Greyhound Bus Offers Free Rides Home to Idaho Runaways

Greyhound Bus Lines is continuing it's partnership with the National Runaway Safeline to bring runaway teens home. The Home Free Program gives runaway kids anywhere in the country a free bus ticket to return back to their families and legal guardians.

To be eligible for a Greyhound ticket home, the young person must be between the ages of 21-21. They also must be named on a runaway report and be willing to be reunited with their family. Before the journey home even begins, the child must first call in to the National Runaway Safline helpline so that the NRS can work with the child and their guardians to arrange a plan for their their return. The support doesn't stop there; the NRS also assists in locating resources in the community that will be able to provide guidance once they are settled.

Here in Idaho there are currently 36 juvenile runaways listed in the Idaho State Police's Missing Persons Clearinghouse. The National Runaway Safeline wants to remind the public that children who run away from home are not “bad” kids. “They are dealing with a situation that feels overwhelming,” National Runaway Safeline says, “be it family dynamics, bullying, gender identity or being lured from home over the internet. They believe living anywhere else is better; even if this means living on the streets.”

The program was founded in 1987, and along with the NRS hopes to reunite as many families as it can. Every year, around 400 kids and teenagers who have run away get a free ride home with Greyhound, anywhere in the U.S.

The Idaho Missing Person Clearinghouse toll-free hotline is 1-888-777-3922. The National Runaway Safeline toll-free numberl is 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929)