Off the radar: Children and young people on the streets in the UK
Detached Children and Young People in the UK
Charlene is one of many children and young people under the age of sixteen in the UK who have become detached from parents and carers and spends time on the streets. The term ʻdetachedʼ was coined by Stein and others1 and further developed by Smeaton. It describes children and young people who are away from home or care for lengthy periods of time; who live outside of key societal institutions, such as the family, education and other statutory services; who do not receive any formal sources of support; and are self-reliant and/or dependent upon informal support networks.
Children become detached in a number of ways:
- Some run away from home or care.
- Others are thrown out of home by parents or carers.
- Others simply stay away or find themselves drifting away from their home and carers.
- Some become detached when they are abandoned by parents who leave the child or young person.
In American literature, young people in some of these situations are often referred to as ʻstreet youthʼ. However, this term excludes some of those children and young
people who become detached. For example, whilst many detached children and young people live on the streets and/or are street-involved4, others are detached but do not spend time on the streets, but are equally at risk behind closed doors.
Detached children and young people may fall into a sub category of young runaways5 but their experiences, diverse in many ways, reveal a specific set of issues and circumstances that lead them to be particularly vulnerable and marginalised.
Published : 31st August 2009
Author : Emilie Smeaton [ More From This Author ]
Publisher : Railway Children [ More From This Publisher ]
Rights : Railway Children
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