In 1989, Queens College (New York) launched its Big Buddy program pairing college students with homeless youngsters. Designed to assist homeless children and increase the college community's sensitivity to homelessness, the pilot project helped provide a secure environment, build positive relationships, expand the children's world, improve…

This paper considers opposing viewpoints on usefulness of the classification of "street children" in an international context and proposes a working compromise based on a hierarchy of street use, from minimal to total dependency on the streets. Different types of education/welfare intervention are needed at these different levels. (DB)

Recounts two homeless teenagers' struggle to stabilize their lives and graduate from high school. To help other heroic, homeless students, high schools should adopt flexible admission criteria, attendance policies, course offerings, and class assignments and provide special education services, transportation vouchers, and emotional support when…

Interviews with homeless people in east Tennessee reveal how they came to be homeless and the problems encompassing homelessness. Most did not develop the sense of home that is formed early in life in stable families and that contributes to formation of self-concept. (LP)

Suggests that educating all students entails going beyond seeking ways to enable marginalized students to engage in present educational forms. An education for homeless and minority children involves rethinking foundational assumptions about the nature of the disciplines, the purposes of education, and the role of teachers. Respecting diversity…

Explores mothers' perceptions of how homelessness and shelter life affect their family relationships. Participants report increased closeness and interaction with their children, but disruption in disciplinary and provider/caretaker roles. Shelter conditions, mother's emotional state, child's emotional state, temperament, and behavior affect…

Offers readers a personal view of "Junk," a controversial novel about the young homeless, by Melvyn Burgess. Analyzes and critiques the book, concluding that the book has a mission to show how misconceived an "initial drug high" is without "wagging its finger" at the reader. (SC)

Gender differences among street children in Nairobi suggest familial function, and development and mental-health outcomes. Male children are taught coping skills by their mothers early on to take up street life to support their family. Female children, expected to remain at home and learn to become women, turn to street life as the result of…

Compares the social support of 115 low-income housed mothers and 92 homeless mothers residing in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and doubled-up arrangements. Results reveal that homeless mothers in emergency shelters and transitional housing had significantly less contact with friends and relatives. Implications for policy development…

Describes a homeless shelter's life skills-art therapy program, which targets adolescents, ages 16-19 years. The group art therapy promoted teamwork, time management, and communication skills. The program can be tailored to promote self-awareness, problem-solving, and goal-planning. The program seemed to elevate the mood of the participants. (RJM)

This paper reports on the evaluation of some elements of a multicomponent program involving more than 20 agencies aimed at improving accessibility of health and social services for the homeless. The case study approach shows how the organizational context, stakeholder characteristics, and methodological features can affect evaluations. (SLD)

Describes experiences in using art with the homeless in an open studio approach. Discusses how offering open studio time with a range of materials showed that the homeless, each with a unique style and personal interests, were eager to create art objects and present them to the public. (RJM)

Examined nature and distribution of HIV-risk behavior in a broad, street-based sample of homeless and runaway youths in New York City (N=929). Found street youths in general to be at high risk, with the highest risks within older age segments of the male street youth population; paradoxically, these youths are least likely to be in contact with…

Presents new paradigm for research with street children, using street researchers who act as novices in a new culture, taught by children, yet maintain professional integrity and identity. Discusses the transformed researcher role, countertransference, new conceptualizations of time and space, testing behaviors, value-based research, and…

A study trained four parent-child advocates serving homeless parents and children (ages birth-3) in providing one-on-one early intervention to facilitate healthy parent-child interactions. After training, all advocates increased their use of positive, contingent, and instructive feedback and mothers became more contingent, social-emotional growth…