One kid at a time, our young people leave home. They leave alcoholic and drug homes; homes where physical and sexual abuse are as ordinary as breakfast in the homes most of us grew up in.

They don't always leave of their own volition. Sometimes they are thrown out or abandoned on the street. Of the numbers of 12-15 year old runaways we see, most of their parents never report them missing.

As many as 12,000 kids live on the streets of Los Angeles. There is a mistaken idea that street life is romantic and preferred by the kids, but our research shows this to be untrue. On the streets they fall victim to pimps and drug dealers. AIDS and other diseases are constant threats. "Squats", where the kids live, under freeways or in abandoned buildings are filthy and violent beyond belief.

On the streets, these kids miss learning the basic tools for getting along in society. So they get into trouble wherever they go. They're too volatile for foster homes, too destructive for schools. They often end up in police custody. Their problems with institutions and authorities become chronic. If no one intervenes, they grow up to become welfare burdens at best. At worst, they become criminals.

Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN) intervenes. We work with the most difficult of these chronic youth, the ones that have failed in other programs and been labeled incorrigible. LAYN has the highest success rate of any such program in the country. 70% of our kids exit our program to live successfully with their families, in foster or group home placements, or independently. 87% of those with successful outcomes remain in stable settings.

If you are homeless, in trouble, or need immediate help, call the California Youth Crisis line at 800-843-5200.

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