Capacity for Survival: Exploring Strengths of Homeless Street Youth

Abstract

The majority of research on homeless youth has focused on the multitude of problems faced by this vulnerable population. The current study, while acknowledging the hazards of life on the streets, seeks to explore the personal strengths and informal resources street youth rely on to navigate their environments. Qualitative data from seven focus groups conducted with street youth ages 18-24 were analyzed using content analysis. These data, rich with interactions among youth participants, highlight three important themes: developing "street smarts," existence of personal strengths, and informal resources relied upon by youth to survive. Results provide valuable insights into the strengths of homeless youth that can be useful to providers in assessing street youths' service needs and increasing the likelihood of long-term positive outcomes.

Psychopathy, gang membership, and moral disengagement among juvenile offenders

“…Exposure to these delinquent peers may lead these adolescents to become morally disengaged from mainstream values and more likely to engage in antisocial activities to attempt to survive financially, cope with life on the street, and protect themselves (Bender, Thompson, McManus, Lantry, & Flynn, 2007).…”

Protecting, Balancing, and Confronting: Health-Seeking Among Homeless Youth in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

“…Moreover, given the hidden nature of the juvenile street population in major cities like HCMC or Hanoi (Fern, 2006), it is difficult to gain a deeper sense of what their health needs are or how they engage with the health care system. While the negative health impact of living on the streets is well documented (Beharry, 2012;Bao, Whitbeck, & Hoyt, 2000;Bender et al, 2007;Heffron et al, 1997), participants in our study engaged in formal health-seeking behaviors only when their health became such a pressing issue that it could not be ignored. Youths faced several barriers to maintaining their health: challenges finding places to sleep and food to eat, having few resources to spend on accessing health care, and living in a constant environment of fear from gang violence, police brutality, and assault.…”

“…The focus groups lasted between 60 and 90 minutes. Focus group questions were informed by the study approach described by Rew (2000) and Bender, Thompson, McManus, Lantry, and Flynn (2007) that gave examples of how to pose questions about specific survival strategies to groups of homeless youth. We used these authors' interview approach as a starting place, but asked participating youths to expand and elaborate on the topics that would be most important in relation to health-seeking practices in Vietnam specifically.…”

La problématique des mineures en fugue : une question de protection ou de développement ?

“…À l'époque où le projet a été entrepris, le Compte-rendu sur les enfants disparus (Bender, 2007) indiquait que la fugue au Canada représentait le premier objet de signalement de disparition d'enfants, soit 76 % de tous les signalements. Ce registre révélait aussi que le nombre de signalements de fugue au Québec s'élevait à 5 163, plaçant ainsi le Québec au quatrième rang des provinces canadiennes.…”