Church suppers, pony tails and mentors: Developing a program for street kids

Interventions With Street Youth: A Commentary on the Practice-Based Research Literature

“…Shelters and drop-ins often serve as sites from which to deliver special programs and interventions (Karabanow, 2002;RotheramBorus, 1991). Programs may include long-and medium-term housing (Stanton, Kennedy, Spingarn, & Rotheram-Borus, 2000); educational services (Fitzgerald, 1995); job and skills training (Teare et al, 1994); therapy and counseling (Price, 1989); crisis intervention, legal services, and medical services (Reuler, 1991); and recreational activities such as art and music (Kallander & Levings, 1996;Karabanow, 1999;Ray & Roloff, 1993). Shelters are often viewed as a gateway for youth to access other services (De Rosa et al, 1999;Karabanow, 2002;Robertson & Toro, 1999).…”

“…Some shelters and dropins have rules-such as no drugs, alcohol, or pets-that prohibit certain segments of the street youth population from accessing services (Karabanow, 1999;Ray & Roloff, 1993). Further, shelters and drop-ins often experience overcapacity (Fitzgerald, 1995;Hicks-Coolick et al, 2003;Karabanow, 2002;Yates, Pennbridge, Swofford, & MacKenzie, 1991).…”

“…Therapy and counseling services may be available through programs such as shelters (Karabanow, 1999;Ray & Roloff, 1993); mobile teams of social workers and therapists, which visit youth on the streets, at drop-ins, or at shelters (Price, 1989;Yates et al, 1991); crisis resource centers (Fitzgerald, 1995); medical clinics (Yates et al, 1991); support-groups and group therapy programs (O'Connor & MacDonald, 1999).…”

“…' Cameron and Karabanow (2003) cited anecdotal evidence that family interventions appear preferable to individual therapy in addressing adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, specifically noting a marked reduction in illicit drug use, conduct disorders, family conflicts, and the amount of time spent in institutions for those youth engaged in family interventions. Using self-report data from the suicide probability scale (Cull & Gill, 1982), Teare, Furst, Peterson, and Authier (1992) found that shelter Family Therapy and Reunification Ballantyne & Raymond, 1998;Bronstein, 1996;Cameron & Karabanow, 2003;Hawkins & Fraser, 1983;Kidd, 2003;Teare, Furst, Peterson, & Authier, 1992;Tolan & Loeber, 1993 YouthCare family reconciliation services (Ray & Roloff, 1993) Seek to reduce conflict between parents and youth Intervention with family members in addition to the youth to help families cope and remain intact (Robertson & Toro, 1999;Teare et al, 1994) Focus on reuniting and developing relationships between parents and street youth Common for shelters to attempt family reunification Rigorous assessment of potential for family reunification should be performed before reuniting youth with family members (Kidd, 2003) McCarthy and Hagan (1992) (Schorr, 1997) Partners in Denver (Hawkins & Fraser, 1983;Wall, Hawkins, Lishner & Fraser, 1981) Project Wincroft (Hawkins & Fraser, 1983;Smith, Farrant, & Marchant, 1972) Pairing of a troubled youth with a role model Street youth build positive, long-term relationships Focus on characteristics and qualities that mentors provide that lead to street youth's resilience Mentors and youth should share cultural and racial characteristics (Cameron & Karabanow, 2003) Evidence of decrease in youth crime rate Mentors provide stability and an opportunity for youth to talk in a nonjudgmental setting and have positive social interactions Some evidence of improved employment Mentoring turnover can be high (Cameron & Karabanow, 2003) Difficult to train and pair mentors with youth (...…”

Nommer et comprendre l’itinérance des jeunes : une recension des écrits

“…La position adoptée par Levine et ses collaborateurs (1986) permet de résumer ce qui semble constituer le dénominateur commun de plusieurs démar-ches. Après avoir souligné les lacunes de définitions officielles ou de définitions utilisées par d'autres études, les auteurs proposent une compréhension originale des termes ou introduisent d'autres termes particuliers (Levine et coll., 1986;Deisher et coll., 1992: Grigsby, 1992Kurtz et coll., 1991;Powers et Jaklitsch, 1993;Ray et Roloff, 1993;Webber, 1991;Williams, 1993). Comme le mentionnent Fournier et Ostoj (1996), les différents buts poursuivis par ceux qui veulent connaître cette population constituent une des explications de la diversité des définitions.…”