Running in the shadows

With all that's going on with our country right now -- health care reform, two wars in the Middle East, the federal budget deficit, the slow recovery of the economy, etc. -- you'd think it would be a good thing to see Medford and Ashland featured prominently in The New York Times.

You'd be wrong.

The two Southern Oregon cities earned dubious datelines this week as, first, the Times looked at Medford in describing how the recession has worsened the nation's youth runaway problem and then, the following day, featured an Ashland girl in its report on how teenagers are often forced to sell sex in order to survive on the streets.

Both stories are well worth reading. If you're one of those folks who tends to skip over links to videos, I urge you to make an exception. Reporter Ian Urbina and photographer Monica Almeida team up for a compelling report, featuring the same teenagers who are interviewed in the two articles.

I won't attempt to distill the articles here, other than to say that, for me, they engendered a feeling of respect for the resourcefulness displayed by many of these youth. Make no mistake: These aren't the "road warriors" you see on some Portland streets -- the aggressive, panhandling, drug-addled young people who are just passing through. These are kids who've left home because of abusive parents or economic difficulties. One girl is trying to make it by squatting in the abandoned house her parents lost to foreclosure. The stories are powerful and deserve a careful reading.

First article: Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways

Second article: For Runaways, Sex Buys Survival

Videos: When No One's Looking, and When No One's Looking, Part 2