This study examined the lifestyle of children from a sedentary grouping of 20 homeless families living under a viaduct in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The study particularly focused on issues related to this lifestyle, including dimensions of housing and cultural variations in housing related to child development and child rearing. The lifestyle of the…

Presents an overview of the situation of street children and youth in urban Latin America. Findings from numerous studies throughout the region are synthesized. Suggests that economic factors underlie the marginalization of vast numbers of Latin American children. The result is the exclusion of many of the region's children from meaningful…

From 1992 through 2001, Russia lost more than 7 million people as a result of natural population loss or, with the positive migration balance taken into account, 4.7 million. These statistics show that the size of Russia's population is diminishing steadily. This article reports the findings of a study examining the factors that account for the…

Objectives: This study documents the extent and impact of perceived patterns of behavior in a sample of youths of the streets of Ibadan, Nigeria, with the purpose of implementing a Life Skills Educational (LSE) intervention. Method: The study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Qualitatively, two Focus Group…

This case study documents the experiences of a Peace Corps volunteer who worked as a Youth Development volunteer with disadvantaged institutionalized youth in Honduras. Youth Development volunteers provide direct services in the areas of vocational education, recreational programming, informal education, and counseling. Many are assigned to…

Problems faced by young people seeking housing are examined. Detailed information is given for England and implications are drawn for other western European countries. The paper reviews some of the major social trends for youth. Routes out of the parental home are described in terms of demographic data and socioeconomic values. It is shown that…

This report documents civil violations and discriminatory actions against Roma in Romania, contending that, due to the Romanian government's inadequate efforts to bring perpetrators of anti-Romani crimes to justice and to eradicate discrimination against Roma, a climate of impunity surrounding anti-Romani actions has taken deep root. Chapter 1…

This report summarizes the latest available statistics on international achievements in registering each child at birth; immunizing all children; assisting adolescents, particularly girls; and addressing homelessness in wealthy nations. Each of the report's sections contains a commentary, related statistics, and a discussion on progress and…

Studied the social networks and daily activities of children and adolescents living or working on the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Found that youngsters who lived at home and worked on the street appeared to be experiencing orderly development despite their impoverished circumstances. Youngsters who lived on the streets, however, showed…

The current status of street children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is characterized by marginalization from society through street vending, begging, theft, and prostitution. Evaluation of a drop-in center serving children without family linkages indicates need for needs assessments, follow-up activities, measurement of individual child progress,…

Of all the varieties of educational disadvantage, issues involving students who are homeless, or who move frequently because of poverty, are perhaps some of the most difficult for public school educators in the US to address. Using a pragmatic mixed methods design, this study evaluates the efficacy of participatory action research (PAR): (1) as a…

This article discusses a teaching and research initiative in which 12 third-year undergraduate students and a lecturer worked as volunteers at a local drop-in centre for homeless men and women, and subsequently conducted 49 life history interviews there. Students were asked to keep a diary, recording field observations and reflections on stories…

Rwanda faces tremendous challenges as it tries to fight off insurgents, rebuild its infrastructure, reintegrate refugees, and assist genocide survivors. This report details an investigation which assessed the protection and assistance needs of Rwandan women and children. Part 1 of the report contains the executive summary, key findings, and the…

This assessment of the needs of homeless runaway youth in Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) indicates the need for a cooperative intergovernmental, interdepartmental, and interagency initiative incorporating prevention, intervention and protection, and repatriation. Information was gathered from the Winnipeg Police Department, interviews with 127…

Children's exposure to family violence may lead to increased school difficulties, as shown in studies demonstrating the relationship between children's adjustment disorders and stressful family events. To examine the unique effects of violence on children's cognition, this study compared the academic performance and conflict levels of two groups…