'What more can I do?': Egadz hopes to break cycle of youths running away

It's a familiar cycle to Egadz Street Outreach's Don Meikle: a cycle of youth running away from home, of missing alerts and police getting called in to deal with the situation.

"What we've been doing for years and years doesn't work," the executive director of the non-profit organization says bluntly.

"The numbers keep growing and the problem keeps growing."  

But he said it's not a police issue — it's a social one, and one that requires a different approach.

Since April, the Saskatoon organization has had funding and resources to put into its Operation Runaway program. Listening ears and support workers are available throughout the week, due to a $150,000 provincial grant. Youth, aged between 12 and 18, are also provided cell phones to let people know where they are, and that they are safe.

"We're having huge successes because that support doesn't just come and go, it's ongoing support," said Meikle.

Feelings of worthlessness, addictions and separation from parents, romantic partners or other loved ones are some of the factors leading youth to run away, he said.

"A lot of kids we've dealt with — their parents have had the same trauma," he said. "Trauma just doesn't go away."

An ongoing problem of trauma

Marilyn Brighteyes used to run away herself as a young person, to get away from sexual violence and addictions at home.  

"My mom was an alcoholic. My idea was just avoidance. If I knew she was drinking, I'd stay away a lot longer," she said, explaining she began running away at 12.

She started drinking as well, and that drove her to leave home to party with other young people.

"There's a lot of trauma on the reserves, that is still being enacted. So there's a lot of reasons why girls and boys run away," she said.

Now, even though she's managed to achieve sobriety and is trying to provide a stable home for her children, her own children have run away too. Most recently, her 12-year-old daughter Morningstar left home and caught a ride from Edmonton to go visit the rest of her family, in Brighteyes' home reserve of Saddle Lake, Alta.

Once she got there, Brighteyes said her daughter realized she'd made a mistake, but was afraid to talk to her.

"She thought she was going to get in a lot of trouble."

It's like I'm questioning what I'm doing wrong — what more can I do?- Parent Marilyn Brighteyes

Fortunately, police were able to find her, alleviating her Brighteyes' fears that her daughter could end up another missing or murdered Indigenous girl.

"The thing that makes me wonder too, is I'm providing a different lifestyle for them and still, it ends up happening — even though I'm sober for 10 years and changing my life, and changing how my kids are being raised," she said.

"It's like I'm questioning what I'm doing wrong — what more can I do?"

Listening first step to support

Meikle said listening is key. Youth are voluntarily coming to Egadz weekly group circles. Some are even graduating out of the program and going on to mentor others. 

"We want to find out what they're running from, running to," he said. "A lot of kids don't even see themselves as running away, they see themselves as trying to escape: escape reality, escape what's going on in their life."

Meikle said for parents, it can also be a hard journey, but they need to work on not beating themselves up, but just think about ways they can support their child. He advised parents to think about: "How can I let my kid know it's going to be OK?"

Meikle said he's hoping Operation Runaway can continue making strides and eventually provide a model that may work elsewhere, whether it's other cities, rural areas, or reserves.

"We're trying something different, and we're hoping if it's successful, we'll share it with the rest of the world, whoever wants it."