Leaving the Streets

Book excerpt: Youth between sixteen and twenty-four are considered the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in Canada. While much has been said about why young people enter street life and the culture they encounter there, little has been said about how they exit the street. Through the voices of street youth and frontline workers, Leaving the Streets offers invaluable insights into young people's attempts to exit street life, examining the motivations and challenges, as well as the supports and barriers that aid and hurt youth through this process. Based on the findings from qualitative research done in six cities across Canada, this book demonstrates that exiting street life is a non-linear process involving several layers of motivation and action and action, woven together in a complex web that facilitates the breaking of old social bonds and the building of new ones. From shelters and support programs to mental health and drug use, this book examines the structural and Personal barriers to exiting and details the services that are available, and those that should be available, to help street youth find housing, income and the strength needed to start a new life. Book jacket.