NCJ Number
153524
Date Published
1994
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Focusing on runaway and homeless adolescents in homeless shelters, this film examines the options for the future for youths who cannot go home and emphasizes the importance of providing the services these youths need.
Abstract
The video presents the perspectives of runaways who have dropped out of school and are trying to leave drugs, prostitution, and the streets. Residents and counselors at homeless shelters portray life at the shelter, including the rules, the assistance provided, and the successes in helping adolescents overcome their problems. Outreach workers and counselors discuss the alternatives available and how they help youths who have been involved in juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drugs, and other problems to start their lives over again. Youths tell their personal stories and how the shelters have helped them through education, counseling, drug treatment, and other areas. The discussion notes that one-third of the youths have families who will welcome them back. It also emphasizes that death or jail are the likely outcomes for youths who do not receive the needed help, that youths entering the shelters must be willing to make changes in their lives, and that these youths who change their attitudes and behaviors can look forward to success in jobs, college, and families in their own adult lives.