What would life be like for homeless teens?
Prostitution. is the first thing that comes to mind. Fully 88 percent of the street teens reported panhandling to support themselves, 62 percent reported stealing, half said they had dealt or carried drugs and 42 percent reported prostitution. In contrast, only 25 percent of sheltered teens reported panhandling, 21 percent stealing, 17 percent selling drugs and none engaging in prostitution. Health problems – including strep throat, bladder infections, anemia, malnutrition, venereal diseases, stomach ulcers, hepatitis, scabies and substance abuse – also were much more prevalent among the street teens. Every one of the street teens was sexually active, compared with 75 percent of the sheltered teens. Both groups were aware of safe sex practices, but 46 percent of street teens and 32 percent of sheltered teens reported having had unprotected sex within the past six months. “We may speculate that for these teenagers, the problems of living on the street overshadow the specter of AIDS,” th
