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.

An ethnographic investigation into the lives of street outreach workers and the homeless of New York City

About the Author
Kristina E. Gibson is assistant professor in residence of Geography, and the Urban and Community Studies Program at the University of Connecticut, Waterbury.

Reviews
"Gibson offers an ethnographic exploration of outreach work with the homeless youth in New York City." -- A. Dworsky * Choice *
"Gibson provides a major theoretical advance in our understanding of the spatial dynamics of youth homelessness." -- Alex Vitale,author of City of Disorder
"Gibson's thoughtful and sobering analysis of the hyper-mobility of homeless youth and the street is rich and engaging." -- Amy L. Best,author of Fast Cars, Cool Rides



Book Information
ISBN 9780814732281
Author Kristina E. Gibson
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint New York University Press
Publisher New York University Press
Weight(grams) 363g