A Hidden Crisis
Beyond the well-known cases of trafficking and exploitation, there exist more invisible populations: the unsheltered (homeless); the addicted; missing children; runaway youth; and throwaway kids—those society has deemed unworthy of concern. These individuals are often overlooked, ignored, or dismissed as lost causes. Yet, they are among the most vulnerable to being preyed upon by criminal networks that exploit their desperation.
The Exploitation of the Unsheltered and Vulnerable Youth
Predators and traffickers routinely target unsheltered individuals and runaway or throwaway children. A common scheme involves criminal groups traveling to different cities with blank checks and portable printers. They recruit unsheltered individuals and vulnerable youth to enter stores, banks, or financial institutions to cash fraudulent checks. If successful, the criminals pocket the money, giving their recruits only a fraction, sometimes just enough to buy food or drugs. When law enforcement catches up, the perpetrators are long gone, leaving these individuals to take the legal consequences.
Runaway and Throwaway Kids: A Predator’s Ideal Target
Runaway and throwaway kids are especially vulnerable. The term “throwaway” refers to children our society deems unworthy of our attention or resources. They have no means of independent survival and have no one looking for them. Once on the streets, they are easy targets for traffickers, drug dealers, and criminal enterprises. Many predators actively groom children to run away, knowing that running away is not a crime. Law enforcement treats runaways as a lower priority, and resources to help them are scarce. Society often labels these children as delinquents rather than victims, allowing their suffering to go unnoticed and unaddressed.
The dark web and underground networks provide traffickers with guides on how to manipulate and exploit runaway youth. These children are not just at risk of sex trafficking but also forced labor, drug distribution, and organized retail crime. They are invisible, with no support system and no one actively searching for them.
Forced Criminality: Modern Slavery in Plain Sight
Beyond financial fraud, marginalized individuals – including missing, runaway, and throwaway children – are often coerced into other forms of forced criminality. Shoplifting, drug distribution, and even violent crimes are orchestrated by criminals who face little risk themselves. This system functions much like historical forms of slavery: Those at the top profit, while the victims take all the risks and consequences. When these individuals are arrested, society often punishes them rather than recognizing their victimization.
Society’s Blind Spot
Too often, society views these children as responsible for their suffering. The assumption is that they made reckless choices, ran away by their own will, or somehow deserve their circumstances. In reality, many of these children have been systematically failed by institutions meant to protect them. Instead of recognizing their vulnerability, society labels them as problems – delinquents, runaways, or troublemakers – rather than individuals in urgent need of protection and intervention.
It’s time to shift the narrative. These are not just “runaway” kids—they are at-risk kids. They flee from danger or search for safety, often without realizing the new dangers that await them. Yet, the term runaway has become a label society wrongly associates with criminality, defiance, or moral failure. This kind of labeling diminishes their humanity and overlooks the reality of their situations. It also assumes that we fully understand the circumstances that led them to leave home when, in truth, many are escaping abuse, neglect, or other forms of trauma.
By redefining how we see these children, we can move beyond misplaced judgment and toward real solutions, prioritizing their safety, rehabilitation, and future.
The Need for Change
Until we recognize that these populations are not just struggling but actively preyed upon, we will never break the cycle of exploitation. Law enforcement and service providers must work together to disrupt the networks exploiting the unsheltered, addicted, and vulnerable youth. More importantly, society must shift its perception. These are not just individuals who made poor choices but victims caught in a system designed to use and discard them.
We must not forget that often the child is running from a situation at home involving one or more forms of abuse, whether physical, sexual, or otherwise. They are running from their situation in hopes of finding a safer space without understanding the risks of their action and the propensity to be further exploited and abused.
Moving Forward
Just as with migration, push-pull factors are associated with at-risk youth. In migration, the threat of war, civil unrest, famine, and economic factors often push people out of their homeland. They are “pulled” to regions where they believe there is greater freedom, certainty, and quality of life. Similarly, youth often face factors that push them from their homes or places of shelter to where they perceive a better quality of life. While we might not see this push-pull factor as being in the same vein as those responsible for motivating migration (war, famine, etc.), the reasons perceived by the youth are often no less profound. Some youth are witnessing war at home, financial stress, and often their own atrocities in the form of abuse.
Law enforcement, service providers, the educational system, the faith-based community, and others must join forces to address the factors that push youth to greater uncertainty and vulnerability.
The battle to protect society’s most vulnerable populations is not just about criminal justice but changing mindsets. We can begin dismantling the systems that allow this exploitation to thrive by shifting focus to prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation. Every individual saved from these predatory cycles is a step toward a more just society.