April 23, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Rick Koca was one year shy of retiring from a 30-year career in the U.S. Navy when he found his true calling: providing runaway youths with food, clothing, and, perhaps most important, an open mind and a sympathetic ear.
In 1990, spurred by a television segment on homeless kids in San Diego, Mr. Koca founded StandUp for Kids, an Atlanta group that now operates in 41 cities in 23 states.
His mantra — and that of the group’s 5,000 volunteers — is straightforward: Understand that most runaways left home because of physical or emotional abuse. Do what the ideal family would do. Ask how StandUp for Kids can best help them.
The National Runaway Switchboard, a nonprofit effort financed in part by the federal government, estimates that 1.3 million to 2.9 million youths live on the street or in precarious situations where they are susceptible to prostitution and other exploitation.
Even the conservative 1.3 million figure is large: That’s as many people as the population of all but the seven biggest cities in the United States.
“We work to meet the kids where they’re at, realizing their needs are extremely diverse,” says Mr. Koca. Volunteers provide services to fit the needs of the people they serve, whether that means driving the youths to school and medical appointments or pursuing family reconciliation.
The organization’s operating budget is $1.5-million. Last year it received 38 percent of its funds from individuals, 30 percent from companies, 17 percent from foundations, and 15 percent from other groups.
Here, Mr. Koca (kneeling) and other volunteers assist homeless youths on a San Diego beach.
