At the shelter I volunteer at this past Thursday one of the girls was kicked out for having the remnants of a 4-loko in her room. She had not been drinking it, and it was most likely left over from her last group home. Because alcohol is forbidden at the shelter, she was immediately kicked out when staff found it in her room. Within a few hours a social worker arrived, the kid packed up her stuff, and she was off. I had not been informed of the situation at first and for the two hours prior to her departure we had been talking, cracking jokes, and playing cards with the other kids. As she left the building she turned back to the staff member Jason and said, “I’ll probably be back in a few weeks.” After she’d gone I asked Jason what his thoughts were on the strict nature of the shelter rules. He has worked here for some time and seen it all. “We just can’t have alcohol here. It’s not cool. It’s a problem. Alcohol has been responsible for some of our worst night,” he said. “Alcohol leads to fighting… someone slashes their wrist in the bathroom… we can’t tolerate anything.” Even though the rules seemed draconian and over the top, even thoug she probably would be back in a few weeks or months, and even though the staff really didn’t want to see her go there was no other choice. Each organization has its own rules for a reason. It’s just unfortunate that these kids are just shuffled around from place to place, from group home to group home. There is no concentrated or well-funded solution to the issues confronting homeless and runaway youth. These shelters are just a bandaid.