Street kids : homeless youth, outreach, and policing New York's streets

Overview: Street outreach workers comb public places such as parks, vacant lots, and abandoned waterfronts to search for young people who are living out in public spaces, if not always in the public eye. Street Kids opens a window to the largely hidden world of street youth, drawing on their detailed and compelling narratives to give new insight into the experiences of youth homelessness and youth outreach. Kristina Gibson argues that the enforcement of quality of life ordinances in New York City has spurred hyper-mobility amongst the city’s street youth population and has serious implications for social work with homeless youth. Youth in motion have become socially invisible and marginalized from public spaces where social workers traditionally contact them, jeopardizing their access to the already limited opportunities to escape street life. The culmination of a multi-year ethnographic investigation into the lives of street outreach workers and ‘their kids’ on the streets of New York City, Street Kids illustrates the critical role that public space regulations and policing play in shaping the experience of youth homelessness and the effectiveness of street outreach. Street outreach workers comb public places such as parks, vacant lots, and abandoned waterfronts to search for young people who are living out in public spaces, if not always in the public eye. This work opens a window to the largely hidden world of street youth, drawing on their detailed and compelling narratives to give new insight into the experiences of youth homelessness and youth outreach. The author argues that the enforcement of quality of life ordinances in New York City has spurred hypermobility amongst the city's street youth population and has serious implications for social work with homeless youth. Youth in motion have become socially invisible and marginalized from public spaces where social workers traditionally contact them, jeopardizing their access to the already limited opportunities to escape street life. The culmination of a multi year ethnographic investigation into the lives of street outreach workers and "their kids" on the streets of New York City, this work illustrates the critical role that public space regulations and policing play in shaping the experience of youth homelessness and the effectiveness of street outreach Introduction -- The Space Of The Streets -- Blacc, A Street Kid From Far Rockaway, Queens -- Street Outreach -- Standup For Kids And New York City Outreach -- Public Space : Policing Street Kids And Outreach -- Running Off The Map : Mobility, Street Kids, And Street Outreach -- Conclusion: Where Does The Move Along Dance Take Us? Kristina E. Gibson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: Acknowledgments Introduction 1. "Our Nation": Women and the NOI, Pre-1975 2. "Thank God It Changed!": Women's Transition to Sunni Islam, 1975-80 3. Resurrecting the Nation: Women in Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam 4. Women in the Nation of Islam and the Warith Deen Mohammed Community: Crafting a Dialogue Conclusion Notes Index About the Authors Introduction: the street youth dilemma The space of the streets Blacc, a street kid from far Rockaway, Queens Street outreach Standup for kids and New York City outreach Public space : policing street kids and outreach Running off the map : mobility, street kids, and street outreach Conclusion: where does the "move along" dance take us?