Tonight on 20/20 ` a special edition ` teens in trouble. I thought, 'This is how I live and I'll die this way.' We meet one young Kiwi who survived life on the streets and now wants to save others. We've got a problem. You've got maybe` who knows how many youths out there that need help. He tells his story to help the NZ kids falling between the cracks. It's not painful, and it's not too private. More than` More than happy to tell anybody. And homeless in the USA ` a story two years in the making. Did you think to yourself when you were in that park, 'I'm homeless'? An epidemic of teens left to fend for themselves. Your mom just left? Your mom just left? She just left. I would just die for something like that, just like a normal family. The journey of four kids just looking for a home. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora, I'm Sonya Wilson. Turning 17 is normally a pretty exciting time for a young person, the time of life when it's all about friends, fun and parties. But for kids who grow up under the care of Child, Youth and Family, turning 17 can spell the end of stability. With no family and state care no longer available, many end up homeless. It's something of a hidden issue in this country, but a guy called Damyon New is trying to change that. A CYFS kid himself, he tells 20/20's Hannah Ockelford how he plans to give others like him a roof over their head. ELECTRONIC MUSIC VOICE OVERLAPS They're records of his past. VOICE OVERLAPS A childhood without a family, without love, and in the end without hope. Looking back, do you feel sorry for that little kid? Looking back, do you feel sorry for that little kid? No. No, not at all. Because that little kid's trying to do something now. So if everything I do works out, then my life wasn't a waste. MUSIC CONTINUES Damyon was swallowed by the system and spat out as an angry young man. Watching kids getting walked to school by their parents makes you go, 'Hey. 'Is that what's going on? Is that it's meant to be like?' 'Is that what's going on? Is that it's meant to be like?' Did you feel like you'd missed out? No. I felt like beating the shit out of them, actually. It's, like, 'Man, you're my next challenge. He'd been taken from a mother who couldn't cope when he was just 2. She just couldn't hack it. And Dad beating her all the time, it just... broke her eventually. DOG BARKS MELLOW MUSIC So, what does it feel like coming back to this place? Emotional. Hard. It brings back a lot of memories. RAPS: # This one here goes out to Riversdale Park, Avondale. Damyon and the other kids who ended up at Cholmondeley Children's Home had plenty in common ` lives that had been filled with violence, neglect and trauma. I've been thinking doing something for years. It's been on the back of my mind for ages. I didn't what to do or how to go about it. Damyon didn't want to take the predictable path. He wanted more than the all-too-common hopeless and empty futures of foster kids. The majority of them get attached to a whole lot of things like drugs, alcohol. Um, some of them come out and they don't even know how to sustain life at all. Um, and when they do figure it out, it's too hard and they drop straight back down to the bottom. Damyon's been to the bottom. After various children's homes, his life was punctuated by locked facilities, a period with his mother and the odd foster home. By 14, he took off. I went to this girl's house that I had met recently. Um, her mother was a prostitute. The boyfriend was a P user. It was pretty` pretty bad up there. I stayed there for about a year. Were you using drugs at the time? Were you using drugs at the time? Nah. No, definitely not. I was the only one that would turn it down. Damyon soon outstayed his welcome. I paid board once, and I had to burgle a dairy to do that with the boyfriend of the mother. His options had run out. At 15 years old, Damyon was homeless. You ended up living in a ute? You ended up living in a ute? Yeah. You ended up living in a ute? Yeah. How does that work? > The river. For one, there's your toilet and shower. I slept on the back. I put a tarpaulin over the back. Survival was the hardest part. Days without food, things like that. Do you remember thinking what your future might hold? No. At that point I didn't think there would be one. And you stole to get by? And you stole to get by? Yeah, I robbed houses till eventually I robbed the wrong one. Yeah. POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC Caught and threatened with jail ` it was the wake-up call Damyon needed. MUSIC CONTINUES But how does a kid with no voice and no support get help? Never asked for it. They just offered. Damyon had been welcomed into the home of a friend ` a family home. Why does it make you feel upset talking about it? It's like a happy upset, kind of like someone` someone branched out. Someone cared? Yeah. Yeah. For the first time in your life, you had a proper family? Yeah. You're making me cry. (LAUGHS) You probably don't talk about this stuff. You probably don't talk about this stuff. Nah. To nobody. Because it's private or because it's too painful? It's not painful, and it's not too private. More than` more than happy to tell anybody. I just... don't bother. It's the past. It belongs there. It's the all-too-common pattern of a kid from the system. But Damyon's got a vision to help those like him ` the kids that become the runaways and the thrown-aways. FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS # Win the war. It's market day at the Christchurch Youth Hub. It's been something on the back of my mind for ages. I didn't know what to do or how to go about it. The Youth Hub consists of 11 houses in the central city where professionals provide services for young people. # Wait for me. Wait for me. # We put a young person in the middle and wrap sectors around, so whether there's housing needs or welfare needs, there's employment transition needs, maybe health needs, so wrapping all of those services in one cluster, one geographical area. So that's when I started thinking, well, what if there was an accommodation place for youth within the Youth Hub. Damyon's campaigning for a 12th house to provide shelter for youths without any. That's the one thing that they're missing in the Youth Hub. It's exactly this sort of facility that could help Damyon's foster brother, a young man going through the dark times Damyon's left behind. He's at the bottom of his peak right now. He` He can't go any lower than he is, and even he's admitted that. Is he your motivation for doing this? A big part of it. He's the one that I thought, well, enough's enough. Damyon shows me where his foster brother's living. And so he's been here now for three months, you said? And so he's been here now for three months, you said? Well, probably about a month to two. Would you expect him to stay much longer? Would you expect him to stay much longer? Yep. It's, um, an easy environment to get caught up in, a hard one to get out of. Yeah, I'll just take you through to his room. It's dark. Is there any heating in here? Apart from that gas bottle, which seems to have no gas, there's just carpet for walls. There's no insulation, of course. No windows, apart from a door. It's pretty much just a garage, and he's jumping from couch to couch. But, um, the main problem is if someone gets into this stage, it's real hard for them to come out of it. A garage at the back of an already full house. He doesn't even have a bed. Why do you say it's hard to get out of a situation like this? Well, it's kind of like the world` the world owes you something and you don't want to do anything. How does it make you feel knowing that he's here and he's kind of stuck in this` in this environment? It pisses me off, actually. I've gone round and said, 'Don't give him drugs. You give him drugs and you're giving him a reason.' Everyone said to me, 'Nah, we won't give him drugs.' I'll go round there half an hour later, he'll be stoned off his tree, so you kind of get nowhere. Damyon's determined to get somewhere. This 21-year-old's got grit. When he was younger, he got told he was gonna be a typical CYPS kid and end up in jail cos he's good for nothing and he was going to end up on drugs and an alcoholic. Malisha and Damyon have been steady for six years. How has Damyon fitted in to your family? It took him a while, but eventually he adjusted. And, like, buying him birthday presents or Christmas presents, he didn't understand why my family or why people would do that. And I was, like, 'It's what you do when you care about someone and you class them as family.' My life now, it's` it's busy as hell. It's never been this busy. Like Malisha, his foster parents, the ones that took Damyon in, are still backing him today. It's like I said to you when you first started. You're the right sort of person for this. I hope so. You've felt passionate about this stuff for as long as I've known you, I think. URBAN MUSIC Usually, I'd have time to sit down and relax, but these days it's not, so work nine and a half hours a day,... RAPS: # While I'm in my element, I don't think that things are hard. # I like proving them wrong, just to make myself look smarter. ...come home, jump on Facebook, reply to people on there, make phone calls to other youth organisations. Hi, it's Damyon New here, um, from Homeless at 17. ...if I can fit it in before 5 o'clock. # We're on the bottom floor... ENGINE WHIRRS There's stability and there's routine in Damyon's life, like butter chicken from the same place each Friday. He wants to show people that you can get somewhere with the help and support. His passion for progress is so unlikely after such a turbulent adolescence. Hi, Damyon. Great to see you again. Even more unlikely is the connections he's making with people in power. I was homeless as well, so that's why I am trying to give this a shot. You'd specifically like to see the housing near the hub? Yeah. If it was to happen, I'd move straight in. Yeah. If it was to happen, I'd move straight in. OK. I'd turn my whole life and move in. I'd turn my whole life and move in. It's good. You're talking about a solution. Would housing have made a difference to you? It would have made a big difference. If there was somewhere I could have gone and I had a room, and we all just kind of shared our stuff, there was no one policing me, there was more independence, and if I did have a question, there was someone I could go to and ask that` that was round the same age, I probably would have been fine. Damyon's seen too many of his foster brothers take the predictable path. Are you gagging to get out there and help them? > Are you gagging to get out there and help them? > Yeah. Yeah, big time. Yeah. BLUES MUSIC In a way, his plan's already off the ground. It kept going over in my mind, 'Shit, I'm going to be homeless again.' I don't want that. When Ashley came knocking, Damyon had a chance to prove he could help. He's a prime example. He's stolen from us. He's, you know ripped us off. He came to us a couple of weeks ago, and he's like, 'Oh, I've got nowhere else to go.' I can't seem to stay in one place for too long. I can't remember what they call them, but there's a name for it. I can't remember what they call them, but there's a name for it. < Transient. I think that might be it. Are you what they call a CYPS kid? Are you what they call a CYPS kid? Yeah. I've been in and out of youth residence, been on the drugs. I'm on my last chance or I'm going to jail. You've spent time living in a bush. Where else? Under a bridge. That was only for, like, a night or two, though. RAPS: # This one goes out to you. Ashley's signed up for rehab, his attempt to be more than a statistic. He's starting to see that there's something bigger out there than just ` I'm gonna say it ` his dropkick mates. You know, they are just dropkicks. < Do you just want a normal life? < Do you just want a normal life? Yeah. Do you know what a normal life is? Do you know what a normal life is? Um, yes and no. Normal life ` working, have good friends, go to... go to parties and not use. (LAUGHS) # Yeah, it's dedicated to all the artists who are struggling # through the hardship and punishment, from the heart, for the love of it. # Every day Damyon makes a choice. Consistency's really hard. Even showing up for work in the morning is difficult. Like, I wake up, and I'm, like, 'Man, I don't need to do this.' You've kind of shown that you can do things another way. You can still survive with being absolutely broke and be OK. But for the first time, Damyon's got a dream. And desire is, for now, ample distraction. I won't be able to pay the family back that helped me, but I can always give it to someone else. Um, just for me, one person's not enough. Yeah, it's got to be a lot more. How long are you prepared to fight for this home? How long are you prepared to fight for this home? To the day I die. Good on you, Damyon. Um, you can find out more about his plans. We've got a link to his Facebook group on our Facebook page. Go and have a look and see if you can help. Next up on 20/20 ` a story two years in the making ` an inside look at America's teens in trouble. Two million homeless youth are in America. Each of these kids are desperate for what should be most basic ` a home. I'm homeless. I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. I feel lonely and drunk by myself. How am I supposed to feel? I'm not happy. It's cold out here. Sure it will! All you need is this. With a few simple additions, (BARKS) (SNIFFS) (BARKS) Is it broken? Is it broken? No, just old. Won't go digital. Sure it will! All you need is this. With a few simple additions, almost every TV can go digital. Sorry, folks. Off the market. If you're on Freeview, SKY or TelstraClear, you're already there. To find out how you can see more and enjoy more, visit goingdigital.co.nz. a special edition ` teens in trouble. 1 Welcome back. They started out like any kids, full of hope and dreams, but now they're homeless and in real danger of slipping between the cracks. These kids aren't living under a bridge but under the radar, part of a new under-reported type of homelessness in America, surfing from couch to couch, from the beds of friends to the beds of strangers. For over two years, 20/20 have chronicled the terrors and triumphs of four such teenagers, all surviving largely on their own. My name's Rebekah. My name's Rebekah. My name is George. My name's Rebekah. My name is George. My name's Dakota. My name's June. Four fresh-faced teens just coming into their own. I'm 18. I'm 16. I'm 16. 17. I'm 16. 17. I'm 13. They should be worried about prom, homework, Friday night football. Instead they're worrying about whether anyone loves them. They're not even sure where they're going to sleep tonight. Now, this wasn't the way it was supposed to go. They had parents who loved them, rooms of their own, clean pyjamas with feet. I wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to be a veterinarian. # Say what you need to say. Four teenagers slipping through the cracks, not living in cardboard boxes or under bridges, but under the radar. # Even if your hands are shaking. # They're part of a frightening statistic ` two million homeless youth are in America. Each of these kids are desperate for what should be most basic ` a home. I'm homeless. I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. And I'm homeless. This is 17-year-old Rebekah. She's been sleeping on other people's couches here in Falls City, Oregon, since she was 14 years old. This was Tory's house. This was Tory's house. How long did you stay there? This was Tory's house. How long did you stay there? I stayed there, like, three months. Um, this is Nikkie's house. I stayed here for, like, four months. And then I lived right here too. < How many different houses and couches? How many different people do you think you moved around on in that time? At least five houses. I cried every time I got kicked out. < Why? < Why? Just cos I didn't really know where I was gonna go. MELANCHOLY MUSIC We got kicked out of our house, and so we moved all of our stuff in here. It is kind of sad. Three years ago, Rebekah's mom, Sandy, lost her house and moved into a falling-down trailer with her boyfriend. I never thought that this would happen to us. I thought we would be living in our house forever. There were problems right from the start. The trailer was too small to fit all of them. And her mom's boyfriend, a man named Critter, only made things worse. That's his motorcycle gang name. > That's his motorcycle gang name. > His motorcycle gang name? Yeah. Yeah. What was it like with you and him? Yeah. What was it like with you and him? I don't get along with him. She said it got so bad that even though she was still just a kid, she decided to leave. She chose her boyfriend over her kids. OK, I'll do this one. As painful as that sounds, Rebekah still loves her family and wants to help care for her disabled half-sister, Critter's daughter, Charlie. But she's become lost, dropping out of school and losing hope. I feel lonely and drunk by myself. How am I supposed to feel? I'm not happy. It's cold out here. It's a hard life. It's a hard life. Yeah. It sucks. Rebekah wants out. But 600 miles away in San Francisco, George desperately wants back in. He's making a call to the woman he calls Mom. She's actually his aunt. He never knew his real mother. To say the least, life has been tough. A year and a half ago, when George was 17, his mom bought him a Greyhound bus ticket from Missouri. Um, last August, my mom gave me a ticket to go out to, um` to San Francisco to live with some relatives. With $50 and an address in his pocket, he set out on the trip. When he was almost there, he spoke to his mom from a rest stop in Reno. That's when he says she confessed to something almost unthinkable. The address she'd given him wasn't family; it was a McDonald's. My mom called me and told me that I didn't have any relatives out in San Francisco and that I was basically screwed. George is understated, but this is a horrifying thought, a parent literally putting their own child on the express bus to nowhere. How old are you? > How old are you? > I was 17. Seems like the stuff of a fairy tale. Yeah. Where the wicked stepmother is, like, you know, giving a hard time to somebody who doesn't deserve it. Yeah. For two weeks, George says he was forced to sleep in Golden Gate Park, right here in this tree. When I slept in the tree, I felt safer, uh, mainly cos on the ground, a lot of people could tamper with you. The only thing that's bad could happen is if you fell out. So every night he would strap himself to the branches and hope for the best. He used public restrooms to take baths with paper towels, eating almost nothing to try to make his few remaining dollars last. George is not alone. He's part of a growing number, says social worker Toby Eastman, who helps handle the 6000 homeless teens who come through San Francisco every year. What do you make of his situation? What do you make of his situation? It's actually fairly typical of many of the young people that we serve. She says the trauma can produce a kind of emotional distance, and sometimes George does seem almost numb. I don't miss my parents at all. If I think about them, then I'll just bring back dumb memories that I don't need to worry about. George isn't the only one trying to forget painful memories. Rebekah finds herself making hard choices that she'd like to forget, sometimes staying with men she doesn't even like. Unbelievable, isn't it? Next up, we meet Dakota and June. June is a young kid that just doesn't fit in and has been driven from her home. Unlike George and Rebekah, June actually has a home ` this ramshackle house in Portland, Oregon. But June says she feels so unsafe there, she'd rather be on the street. I go from place to place, from, like, a friend's house to the streets, and I've lived in a shelter. # Rendezvous. # Make any moment magic with an enchanting boost of fragrance. We've got a problem. You've got maybe` who knows how many youths out there that need help. 1 Welcome back to our special on homeless teens. June and Dakota are two more kids looking for what you and I probably take for granted ` a home. Two kids with families and parents that are just unable to cope, forcing them to try to make their way in a world that's at times dangerous and very lonely. POIGNANT MUSIC My name's June. Nothing is as it seems with young June. I'm 13. Unlike George and Rebekah, June actually has a home ` this ramshackle house in Portland, Oregon. But June says she feels so unsafe there, she'd rather be on the street. I go from place to place, from, like, a friend's house to the streets, and I've lived in a shelter. Inside, 10 people and 17 animals share roughly 600ft2 of living space. 17. But it's not` You know, I know it sounds like a lot, but it's really not. I mean` < No, it really is. There are holes in the floor and the ceiling, grime on the walls, sheetless mattresses for sleeping. POIGNANT MUSIC The smell ` almost indescribable. It's not the greatest of houses, I agree, you know, but it's paid for. It's ours. I feel like my house is gonna collapse on me. But June's not talking about the roof. She's talking about her brothers, who regularly come after her about one thing. He's David. He's not June. He's not a girl. He's David. He's actually right. June is not a girl. She's a boy named David, the seventh son of these parents. June says since she was 9 years old, she's identified herself as a girl. He's so damn stupid for doing this. No, no, no. He's not stupid. He's not stupid. I don't care. Yes, he is. I don't care. I'm right, though. If he gets beat up as June, who's gonna be there to help him? I'm not, because that's not my brother. < You will be. < You will be. No. We ain't got no family named June. It's so, so hard, because I understand why, David don't want` feels uncomfortable living here. I mean, that's not the way to talk to him. Your brothers can get really mean, but what are the meanest things that they say? Like I'm a faggot, I'm a fairy, I'm a bitch. You would've rather been home if it were different? Mm-hm. I couldn't really handle the pressure that they gave me about being gay. Gay youth make up over 20% of homeless kids. Way higher numbers in suicide, attempted suicides. They definitely have more sexually transmitted diseases. And their home life is usually, um, one that they're not willing ever to go back to. MELANCHOLY GUITAR MUSIC I always wish I had another family. Always. I'm not going home tonight, because my mom and dad are at the casino and I don't want to be home with my brothers. But June's parents sometimes don't seem that much more sympathetic than her brothers. He's like a whore. It's like my husband said. He said, 'It's almost like he became a girl just to be a whore.' Things seem much better where we find 16-year-old Dakota. She's an honour roll student in Medford, Oregon, with this nice family, this nice house, these home movies, but none of them are hers. It's sad sometimes because I see them, you know, watching, like, home videos and stuff like that of, like, when they were 3 and stuff, and I don't really have that or anything. For the past three months, she's been couch-surfing at her best friend Samantha's parents' house. Like Rebekah, George and June, Dakota is homeless. This is Sam's room. This is Sam's room. BOTH LAUGH This is Sam's room. BOTH LAUGH But it's officially mine too now. I've definitely contributed to the mess. Her father died when she was young. And according to court papers, her unreliable mother would often pack them both up and leave, taking long road trips that often ended up with them sleeping in their car, in shelters or worse. I mean, we were both so vulnerable, and, you know, eating` eating next to men who were schizophrenic and hallucinating, and sleeping in the car. I didn't know exactly what was going on, but, um, I knew it wasn't good. I` My friends weren't doing that. It would be a trip to San Diego that would be the last straw. She was, like, crying and she was, like, kind of, like, hitting herself. I just felt like I was old enough that I could stop and say, 'You need to stop.' How old were you? How old were you? < Uh, I was 16. I went and I waited and` like, in McDonald's or something, and I saw her pull out, and she drove away. Your mom just left? Your mom just left? She just left. Next up, the story continues. We catch up with Rebekah, who's gone from one place to the next. She's run out of friends to stay with. So with nowhere to sleep, she moves in with Roger. Yeah, yeah. 59 years old. That raises eyebrows. WOMAN: Are your intentions pure? WOMAN: Are your intentions pure? Oh, hell yeah, they are. People just have, uh,... sick minds. We've got a problem. You've got maybe` who knows how many youths out there that need help. 1 Welcome back. So, having found somewhere to stay, Dakota goes to court to divorce her mum, and George finds a lifeline at a shelter. Meanwhile, June finds a school that will accept her as a girl. It's an emotional moment. For the first time in six months, Dakota comes face to face with the woman who once meant everything to her ` her mom. She goes to court to remove herself from her mother's control. Basically, she wants a divorce. What was it like seeing your mom again? > What was it like seeing your mom again? > It was really hard, just because we're the only two people that know everything that happened from when I was little to when I grew up. She says more difficult than living through it was hearing her mother deny it. Listen to two different realities. And I've always provided a stable house... Christmas ` I was kicked out, living with my sister. I've always provided a roof over her head, always supported her. Sleeping in the car and going from shelter to car, shelter to car. This is very hard. It's like one day I don't have a child any more. I think she loves me, but it's like it's such a twisted love. I mean... I guess I'm not her parent any more at this point. I'll always be her mother, but my life needs to go on. I just feel like she's in denial. She doesn't admit anything. Like, so, yeah, it's the best you did and could do, but... she should have reached somewhere else to` to get help. I will enter a judgement of emancipation for Dakota as provided under Oregon law. APPLAUSE Good luck, Dakota. Told you, didn't I? Told you, didn't I? Oh my God. Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you? (SOBS) I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. That was so hard, dude. That was so... Her best friend's family is there to show Dakota support, but she knows she is still just a guest in their home, and it's starting to take a toll on everyone. Dakota feels like she might be starting to outstay her welcome. Her situation is better than Rebekah's. She's run out of friends to stay with. So with nowhere to sleep, she moves in with Roger. Yeah, yeah. 59 years old. That raises eyebrows. WOMAN: Are your intentions pure? WOMAN: Are your intentions pure? Oh, hell yeah, they are. People just have, uh,... sick minds, you know, perverted minds and... But Rebekah ` I mean, she's my` my little stepdaughter, more or less, you know. And when she turned 18, that's, uh, when I allowed her to go ahead and move in. He's married, but he's, like... I don't know. It's not worth caring about. Yeah, there's a lot of` there's several people around here that badmouth her, mainly because she's homeless. This is the guest bedroom. I don't know. It's been, like, four years since I've had my own room. It makes me feel like a bum. I've stood by her, and I've taken a lot of heat for that. I'm getting divorced because of her. I had a girlfriend recently who moved out because of her. I'm telling the world that they should find a sugar daddy too. Just kidding. You have called him that. You have called him that. I have, but that` then I realised, no, I'm not calling him that. Because you learned what it really means? Because you learned what it really means? Yeah. When somebody hears what you're saying, what do you think they think? Um, well, I don't know. People think what I do. They wonder, like, why he gives me money. He ever put the moves on you? He ever put the moves on you? Nope. < You sure? < You sure? He's never been weird. We have never done anything. That is disgusting, dude. Is there any little piece of you that thinks maybe he likes you in a way that would be weird? Probably. Probably. < Yeah, the` Probably. < Yeah, the` He probably looks at me. I don't know. It's a dead end here. Rebekah says her only salvation may be a federal programme called Job Corps, a boarding school for troubled youth that will get her a high-school diploma and teach her a trade. Unlike Rebekah, George has decided to rely on himself and actually may have found a solution to his problems. Then I kind of remembered my mom said, 'Hey, 'find a place and we'll give you your social security card and birth certificate.' That's when I went to the library. He finds the name of a shelter for teens run by Larkin Street Youth Services. How are you feeling about things? How are you feeling about things? I kind of thought of it as an adventure, you know? You looked at the positive? You looked at the positive? Yeah. But despite his upbeat attitude, there's a part of George that feels unreachable, a hole that nothing can fill. MELANCHOLY GUITAR MUSIC In Portland, June is trying to stay positive too. Today's my first day of school. I'm excited. Her family's trying to be supportive in their own unique way. If you wanna be a girl, that's fine, but you're not dressing like a slut. If you wanna be a girl, that's fine, but you're not dressing like a slut. See, this isn't too much, is it? < You look fine to me. I have no problem with what you're wearing, David. This is a big day. June has found a new school that will allow her to attend as a girl. Kind of nervous. I feel kind of nervous about today. I felt very upset in my last school. All righty. David, you ready? All righty. David, you ready? Bye. June's about to get what she hopes for ` a fresh start. SOFT GUITAR MUSIC For over a year, June hasn't really attended school. But today ` a new beginning. Told me you're coming to our school. Told me you're coming to our school. Yeah. I feel like this a clean start. I am excited, but I'm also nervous. I hope I can go to school every day, cos I don't want to get kicked out. Even with a new school, June still has the same life and the same problems. Right now, I'm having, like, really bad thoughts about hurting myself. After the break, we catch up one last time with Dakota, George, June and Rebekah to see if they've finally found a place to call home. Two months later, Rebekah comes back on a break from Job Corps and finds her mom has left Critter, but she's now homeless herself, living with her 8-year-old daughter in the back of her truck. You ready, Rebekah? As rough as this may seem, for Rebekah, she feels at home. a special edition ` teens in trouble. 1 After following them for two years, we're about to check in one last time with Dakota, June, George and Rebekah, all of whom, through no fault of their own, have found themselves without a place to call home. It's late night in Portland, and June finds herself in a bad place. Right now, I'm having, like, really bad thoughts. WOMAN: About what? About hurting myself. June has never threatened suicide before. What's she's saying right now is so frightening, her mother is pushed into action. I don't know. I know there's a razor in my drawer, and I think, like, I'm scared I'll go get it later and, like, hurt myself. I'm scared I'll go get it later and, like, hurt myself. Come here. Where's the razor? Where's the razor? In my top drawer in the bedroom. I'm gonna throw it away. June's parents reach out for help, taking June to a mental health facility that same night. And in the midst of her crisis, her parents seem to have found some acceptance. So angry. So... Why? Because they called me and told me that they can get her in the hospital, but, um, she has to be addressed as David in there. And in Medford, Oregon, 16-year-old Dakota has a crisis of her own. For the first time in her life, she's found a fit with a family and a home, but now she suddenly feels like a stranger. Last night I` I had made a comment at Lee, you know, and apparently he'd gotten offended by that. And then he just kind of came at me and was, like, pointing his finger and saying, you know, 'You're taking advantage of this family.' And I've heard that far too many times. He didn't... mean it. My dad loves Dakota. He just was treating her like part of the family. I've got a temper and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but you've got to take a deep breath and go, 'All right, they're kids. They're all gonna do a little testing and see what they can do.' But she's a smart kid. But she's a smart kid. Mm-hm. But she's a smart kid. Mm-hm. She's a good kid. Even though they're all friends again, Dakota decides it's time to move on. Have you seen my cake? With the help of a local agency, at the age of just 16, Dakota has her own apartment. PEOPLE CHATTER If she was couch-surfing, I'd be, like, 'Dude, that sucks.' But she wasn't. She was getting an apartment, and I don't blame her. So, yay! This is the first place she can call her own. So, this is my kitchen. And, uh, I'll clean it later. (LAUGHS) But Dakota finds living alone a lot harder than she expected, sometimes waking up at 5am to go to her job at Old Navy. I like being responsible and showing people that I'm dependable. But with all these new responsibilities, Dakota becomes overwhelmed. It was scary. 'How am I gonna save money for this? 'How am I gonna get a car and pay for it myself and insurance?' And it was just hard. You just feel like you're` you can't be a kid. George seems to be in a much better place. He's in school too and only weeks away from graduating, but he still doesn't have what he wants most ` a connection to his family. I called my mom a while back, and she didn't really answer. I think they changed the number on me again. Even though he's moving forward on his own, he's still just a teenager. After six months of trying, George dials one more time. Suddenly, she answers. Hello? Hey, Mom. It's an awkward conversation full of his mom's long silences. Uh, I just wanted to tell you that I was graduating in a couple of days, so... George is listening and hoping for any sign of love. All right, I'll let you go, then. Yep. Bye-bye. You were surprised she even answered, right? You were surprised she even answered, right? Yes. I was very surprised. You were hoping she'd say, 'I'm gonna come.' You were hoping she'd say, 'I'm gonna come.' Yeah, slightly, but... You didn't want to ask her to come because you thought she'd say no. You didn't want to ask her to come because you thought she'd say no. Yeah. Well, I knew she was gonna say no, but, you know, if I didn't say it, you know, then she might, you know` she might think, 'Oh, maybe he wants me to come to graduation.' But she didn't think that, so... George is struggling to put the past behind him. But Rebekah ` she can't wait. Today's the day I'm leaving for Job Corps. I don't wanna see her back here at all. And by her leaving, she's bringing us all one step closer to leaving ourselves. Two months later, Rebekah comes back on a break from Job Corps and finds her mom has left Critter, but she's now homeless herself, living with her 8-year-old daughter in the back of her truck. You ready, Rebekah? As rough as this may seem, for Rebekah, she feels at home. What's that like? It was` I didn't like sleeping in the truck, but it was OK cos I was with, you know` I was spending time with them, cos I never do, cos she was always with Critter. Even though it's just a little truck, it's more of a home... Mm-hm. Mm-hm. ...than a mansion if it doesn't have the right people in it? Yeah. PEOPLE MURMUR PEOPLE MURMUR Goodnight, everyone. PEOPLE MURMUR Goodnight, everyone. Night. We've been following the lives of George, Rebekah, June and Dakota for 14 months in their desperate search for a place most of us take for granted. # Working like a one-man army. # Fighting with the shadows in your head. # Living out the same old moment... What do you think home means? I think it's a place where you know you're safe. # ...if you could only say what you need to say. # Well, it's the people in it too, I think, you know. Whether it's in a tree or the back of a truck, a friend's couch or even a shelter, home is supposed to be the place where you're accepted for who you are. In that fantasy world, I am June. Right now for June, it's a rehab centre in Portland. But her parents have actually come to visit. I used to have a nice house and a nice car. Rebekah is still living in Falls City, yep, with 59-year-old Roger. But just last week, Dakota was accepted to her dream school, the University of Portland, with $36,000 in scholarships. George is still at Larkin Street, but he spent Christmas with his grandparents, and he enrolled in his freshman year at college, where he passed all of his subjects, except French. What does home mean to you? There's family there that will support you. # Even if your hands are shaking... Like the two million other kids out there tonight, sleeping in a park or on someone else's couch, these kids just want what any other wants. # ...eyes are closing, # do it with a heart wide open. Whether it's broke-down, whether you live... whether you live in a mansion... # Say what you need to say. ...someplace where you just know you're really safe. # Say what you need to say. A place that you can, you know` you know you can stay for as long as you want. You know what I mean? A place to call home. # Say what you need to. Say what to need to. Say what you need to say. # Say what you need to say. # Say what you need to say. # Say. # Say what you need to say. # Say. # Say what you need to say. # OK, if you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website. That's... You can also email us at... or go to our Facebook page. We're at... and let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Hopefully it'll stimulate a bit of debate out there. Thanks for your feedback over the past week. We're interested in your story ideas, of course, so keep them coming in.