The Street Kids of Anytown, U.S.A.
". . . 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' . . ." Matthew 25:31-46
Recently I made the comment at a get together that now that we're in South Carolina year round, there is no need to keep the winter coats we brought with us from up north and haven't used in a few years. Someone suggested I donate them to the 'street kids in Raleigh' through 'Stand Up for Kids'.
'Street kids'? In Raleigh? Who are the 'street kids in Raleigh' and what is 'Stand Up for Kids'?
I've learned that 'street kids or street children' is a term used to refer to children who live on the streets of a city who are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old. It can be any girl or boy who has not reached adulthood, for whom the street or unoccupied dwellings has become his 'place' of abode. They are inadequately protected, directed, and/or supervised by responsible adults.
These kids hunker down under cardboard boxes, in old or abandoned buildings, parks or even just on the streets themselves. Why would kids leave their homes and take to the streets? For different reasons: family breakdown, poverty and hunger, physical and sexual abuse, exploitation by adults, being overcrowded at home or being disowned for something. It is estimated that 20-40 percent of all homeless teens are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
Because these children live a discreet and secretive existence, accurate statistics on them vary but the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates there are approximately 100 million street children worldwide with that number constantly growing. There are up to 40 million street children in Latin America , and at least 18 million in India and 10 million in Africa. The numbers are attributed respectively to failing economies, poverty and overcrowded conditions. The AIDS epidemic and civil wars in Africa have caused a surge in the number of street children as a result of the abandonment of AIDS orphans. Many studies have determined that street children are most often boys aged 10 to 14, with increasingly younger children being affected (Amnesty International, 1999.)
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Street children may be found on every inhabited continent in a large majority of the world's cities. The following indicates the global extent of street child populations. Latin America, India, Africa, Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya, Philippines, Congo, Morocco, Brazil, Germany, Honduras, Jamaica, Uruguay.
Currently there are 1.3 million homeless and runaway street kids in the United States, not counting children who were forced out of their homes, abandoned by the foster care system, or are part of a homeless family. Children make up 27 percent—the fastest growing segment—of the U.S. homeless population. When I researched this segment of the population, I learned that, unfortunately, there are street kids almost everywhere. Many times, they are overlooked by a city unless there is a jurisdiction policy of picking them up, in which case they may be returned to their abusive homes or incarcerated on minor charges. Not all states define a 15 year old as under age.
Did you know there were so many homeless kids in the streets in the U.S.?
The average age of a homeless person in the United States is (9) nine years old, and there are many kids below the age of nine on the streets, some with their families, some living in cars, but most trying to survive on their own. Some of these children live in the streets and may go home occasionally or infrequently - if the home is still intact - for meals, and if they are provided. Their 'homes' may be in foreclosure, or there may be abusive treatment, which may result in the child or children leaving the home and living on the streets permanently. Children living on the streets are especially vulnerable to victimization, exploitation, and the abuse of their civil and economic rights.
Most runaway children do not realize the dangers of living on the streets. According to the National Runaway Switchboard, 75% of runaways will become involved in theft, drugs or pornography. One out of every three teens on the street will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.
A widely accepted set of definitions, commonly attributed to UNICEF, divides street children into two main categories:
Children on the street are those engaged in some kind of economic activity ranging from begging to vending. Most go home at the end of the day and contribute their earnings to their family. They may be attending school and retain a sense of belonging to a family. Because of the economic fragility of the family, these children may eventually opt for a permanent life on the streets. Children of the street actually live on the street (or outside of a normal family environment). Family ties may exist but are tenuous and are maintained only casually or occasionally.
So what is Stand Up for Kids? It is an organization that helps homeless and at-risk youths age 21 and younger. They have locations in many states in the U.S. (see below) Here is their website: http://www.standupforkids.org/
The location in Raleigh, N.C. article shows what they collect for these street kids, through donations and volunteer hours. http://www.standupforkids.org/local/North%20Carolina/Raleigh/
STANDUP FOR KIDS Locations:
Alabama - Burmingham .jpg)
Arizona,Phoenix/Tempe,Tucson
California,Berkeley/Oakland,Long Beach,Los Angeles,Oceanside,Orange County,Redlands,San Bernardino,San Diego,San Francisco,Silicon Valley,(formerly San Jose)
Colorado,Boulder,Colorado Springs,Denver
Florida -Fort Lauderdale,Jacksonville,Miami,Orlando,Tampa,The Florida Keys
Georgia -Atlanta
Illinois -Chicago,Peoria
Indiana -Indianapolis
Kansas -Kansas City
Kentucky -Louisville
Louisiana -Baton Rouge
Maryland -Baltimore
Massachusetts -Boston,Northampton,Springfield,Worcester
Michigan -Detroit
Minnesota -Twin Cities
Missouri -Kansas City
Nebraska -Omaha
Nevada -Las Vegas
New Jersey -Camden
New Mexico -Albuquerque
New York -Manhattan
North Carolina -Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte,
Ohio - Cincinnati,Cleveland
Oregon -Portland
Pennsylvania -Philadelphia
Tennessee -Chattanooga,Knoxville,Memphis,Nashville
Texas -Austin,Dallas,Houston,San Antonio
Virginia -Hampton Roads,Richmond
Washington -Bremerton, Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma
District of Columbia -Washington D.C.
Mexico -Tijuana
References:
http://www.standupforkids.org/
http://www.zimbio.com/The+Homeless/articles/14/Street+Kids+Teenagers+Their+Own+America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_children
Photos: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license.
Marie Coppola © 2009
15 comments
That makes it all worthwhile; Carol, I truly did not know the extent of this social problem and especially how young these people are fending for themselves to survive in this world. If more people know, maybe it will help change it. I happened to hear about it because I said I had coats to get rid of. Imagine! A PS - I told a couple we know the day after the coat mentioning and I said I was giving some coats to that woman to bring to Raleigh -- the next day, the couple I told about the street kids came over our house with armloads of coats and jackets for me to add to mine. It's a small thing, but it's big to the kids. Winters are colder in Raleigh than down here by the beach.
yep, it is a big problem in canada too, you have inspired I will add this topic to my list of topics to write about for my psychology channel, and don't hesitate ever about writing about what is happening in this world good or bad.
Martha & Amanda - You are both so caring, like Carol, too. I hesitated to write this article as it seems like such a 'downer' but when I learned about the street kids and my first horror reaction, it was neutralized by the fact that there are organizations out there trying to help them. I more wanted to let people know that more than as a recommendation, but they certainly are one. In researching, what stood out is that America, even in its trials right now, tries to find solutions for this; in many of the other countries, for whatever reasons, it is sometimes overlooked or accepted. In this Thanksgiving time, when we are so blessed even with the ills around us, one of the things I hoped this article would do is highlight our blessings and maybe give some attention to others who are in a different place. Martha, my son's friend was 'thrown' out of his house in high school because he didn't have a job right after graduation. I let him stay with us until he got one. His family was not 'happy' with what we did the boy was grateful - he was 18. After reading about these kids, I'm glad we did. I hope to bring an awareness to people and not just bring them down. And do what the prayer above says much better than me. Peace to all, Marie
I agree that you do give hope by knowing there are great organizations out there like this who care about people and children on the street, thanks for recomending this organization. I'll definitely have to check out the Richmond chapter that is close to me. Thanks.
The sad thing is that almost every town no matter how small has street kids. We had a young man here a few years back that lived under a bridge and still managed to make his way through school. He was actually treated terrible by the school principal because he did live on the street. The good thing was that he did not have to sleep on the street most of the time as he was well liked and his classmates brought him home for the night. Amazingly hardly any adult knew of his situation as he was embarassed to be kicked out of his house, and would not let his friends tell anyone of his situation.
And you are absolutely right. I didn't mean that they choose the streets on their own volition - they choose it as a desperate measure from the abusiveness, sexual abuse and otherwise, or poverty and hunger -- I don't think any child, unless he is desperate would choose to live in on the streets - it is the lessor of two evils for them - survival. I listed the reasons why they do this in the 4th paragraph. You are very strong if you worked with these kids; I don't know if I am or could.
I have worked in this area Marie, not all street kids choose to live on the streets, they are forced on the streets but abusive parents, some have been beaten up on a continual basis, some sexually abused, and some girls get pregnant and their parents literally through them out. Yes there are others who do not want to live by decent house rules and move out, but that is not they case for most of the kids, they just don't know what else to do.
Carol, as heart-wrenching as this situation is, once I heard about it, I am now aware and support the work that is being done in the U.S. to protect these kids even though they are still street ridden. In many countries, there are not resources to do this and although we are limited, it is hopeful the numbers don't increase like other countries. In the tragic case you mentioned, it was a violent crime - kidnapping - against her will - these street kids CHOOSE to live on the street. And if we can educate them to know that it can end violently, maybe they will turn to another option. There's a lot of organizing to change it; hopefully the numbers will go down and not up.
It is so sad, my heart goes out to these kids. We have a famous case here in canada, where a teenager missed her curfew, her parents were practicing tough love and locked her out, she was kidnapped used as a sex toy and murder, along with several other girls
Amanda - it WAS shocking to me, too, but it also was positive in that there are organizations and volunteers - in so many states - to administer to these poor children. That's why I mentioned them and listed them. It's a heavy-hearted subject especially for those of us who tuck just-bathed, secure children into their warm beds at night. We collected warm coats from northerners who 'don't need them anymore' down here for these kids and try to support the people who help these unfortunate children. I think there's always been these kinds of things in our world; and we're called to help but in this economy, organizations aren't getting as many donations. I had hoped to make people aware that there is always a need somewhere. And hope.
Wow, shocking statistics! I knew that children do make up a large portion of the homeless, but had no idea just how many there may be. Not to mention that many are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home, what kind of a world is this!!? Pretty sad and sick, sorry for being so negative, just doesn't seem right for all of this sickness to be in the world.
yes hon, we cannot right wrongs if we don't know what they are, spread the word you are helping the kids by doing this