Homelessness means having nowhere to live and a runaway is someone who has run away from home or is seriously thinking about running away.
Some of the main reasons a young perosn might want to run away could be:
- arguments with the family
- violence in the family
- physical or sexual abuse
- problems at school
- pregnancy
- cultural reasons (for example, being forced to marry)
- running away from care
- being in a stressful situation, like after the death of someone the youth loved
- problems with drugs or alcohol.
What do you think may be the reasons why young people in Italy leave their homes? Try to find out.
If you have a problem at home, with your family, who can you resort to? Are there institutions you can ask for help? Who could you call? Are there webpages you could browse to look for useful advice and information?
What are the prejudices towards homeless people? What are the stereotypes people have of them? Read the following article and see what young homeless people think.
How do homeless young people view
I came across this British website and I found it really interesting, well designed, to the point, easy to understand and packed with useful advice. What do you think about it?
http://www.childline.org.uk/explore/homefamilies/pages/homelessnessrunaway.aspx
http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/
What is your mental image of a young homeless person? Are there prejudices in your country towards homeless people? Are they harassed in any way? Are they protected or helped by The System?
Read what 19-year-old London-based Tania thinks.
Here is the account of another young man who found a family at Centrepoint. He was kicked out by his family because he …. How sad! We should be loved the way we are, but this seems to be difficult for lots of adults, even for those who gave life to thee and state that was done out of love.
STONE COLD by Robert Windells
Stone Cold is a realistic novel by Robert Swindells set on the streets of London. The first-person narrative switches between Link, a homeless sixteen-year-old, and Shelter, an ex-army officer.A young homeless boy, using the name of Link, recounts how he became homeless after his dad had left him and his mother. Subsequently, Link’s mother began seeing Vince, a largely abusive man with a grudge against Link and his sister, Carole. After an argument, Carole moves out to live with her boyfriend. Due to the tension at home, Link performs badly at school and sets his mind on leaving home like his sister. Link, however, has nowhere else to go, and is forced onto the streets. He decides to travel to London instead, with £150 of savings and a sleeping bag on his back. (If you want to know more about the story, click on the hot link below. Mind you, you will read info that may spoil the reading of the novel itself. It is up to you!)
If you want to learn some more about the writer, the following websites may prove to be of help
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000050055,00.html
http://www.achuka.co.uk/archive/interviews/bobsint.php
Do you think the novel portrays in a believable way the life of a homeless young man? Did you feel sympathy for Link’s lot? While reading the novel did you ask yourself what you would have done in his situation? If you “immesirmarti” with the character, what are the techniques that the writer used to reach this objective? Why do you think the protagonist’s nickname is “Link”?
Look at what the UK government does for homeless young people.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/Housing/DG_181371
It would be interesting to know what the Italian government does for them and how many young people are estimated to live in the streets in Italy.
Watch the BBC adaptation of Stone Cold. What do you think of it? Do you find it interesting? What would you change? Do you think young people are interested in the issue of homeless teenagers? Why (not)?
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Read and listen to what rapper Speech Debelle says about her experience of homelessness
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18145323
Homeless people are already victims of different forms of violence and abuse. Why do you think are there people that do violence to them?
Read a newspaper article taken from the bbc website to understand the extent of violence against homeless people. What is the situation like in Italy? Are there cases of violence against street people that hit the news? What does this headline, from an American important newspaper make you think of?
violence against homeless people
Violence against the homeless. Is it a hate crime?
You can investigate the issue by reading the article itself: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1852825,00.html
Look at the poem that a USA teen, Krista E (Westford, MA) wrote dedicated to homeless people. What could your poem be like?
My home can be
everywhere
or nowhere.
My daily meals
consist
of anything or
nothing.
My knick-knacks
and baubles
are the clothes
I
wear.
My money
is
only what
others
give me.
I am a being.
I am human.
I am homeless.
If only people
could see
where I stand
and
help me
through
this all.
Will this loneliness
ever end?
Will I begin
a
new life?
Does
anyone
care?
Because
I
am here.
I
am
real.
I
cannot
be ignored.
I am a person.
I am alive.
And…
I am homeless.
The following is a poem written by an adult. Which one do you like better? Why?
A Homeless Man
When compared to mine his dreams are very humble he does not seek much out of life at all
A small flat he could call his home to live in compared to most his wishes seem quite small
At sixty seven years he’s on the street and homeless a Winter dawn is breaking cold and gray
With long gray beard and looking thin and shabby he walks uptown as he does every day.
Some may say at his age he should not be homeless that life’s many chances he left them go by
But they don’t know him or his circumstances he is a person just like you and I
So many of us lacking in compassion beyond our own selves we can’t seem to see
We applaud the wealthy see them as successful and condemn all of those in poverty.
Where did he sleep last night? the thought just chills me
perhaps on park bench in the park nearby
I feel so lucky I’ve a warm home to go to and a comfortable bed on which to lie
Save for circumstance his lot in life might have been my lot
his life story must be one of living hell
But who knows if there is a life hereafter his soul may go to live where angels dwell.
A wintery dawn above the city breaking and the nip of winter in the morning air
And a homeless man uptown is slowly walking a gray bearded man with long gray straggly hair
There’s many more like him around this city people like him nowadays no longer rare
And when compared to him I feel I have been lucky and by circumstance I have been treated fair.
Francis Duggan
If you are in slam poetry, you can see that there are poets inspired by homelessness and take the issue at heart.
Social advertising
What message would you write on your piece of cardboard?
Well, I think people leave their homes for many reasons and the most common are those described above, especially those linked with arguments with the family, violence in the family and physical or sexual abuse. Here in our country there are some institution which help homeless people in order to give them food, warm clothes, a roof and even legal assistance like the association “Avvocati Di Strada” which takes care of homeless’ rights; according to some surveys in 2010 were 727 institution and organization that have provided services to the homeless in Italy. Unfortunately in our country lots of people look at the homeless who are, for example, in the train stations asking for money or food and ignore them because we sometimes think they could have a job, but we don’t know because they live like that and in what they came across in their life. We are good in judging! I think this British website you posted are very interesting and really useful to young people who are scared, stressed and want to escape; http://www.childline.org.uk/explore/homefamilies/pages/homelessnessrunaway.aspx this website is, in my opinion, the best because there are the most common questions among young people which have some kind of problems like “what is living on the streets like?” or “what if I want to ran away for care?” and even because it tries to give advice and post a telephone number you can call on to talk through things with a counsellor. Unlikely nowadays, like we see in the video or read in the story of Tania, most of young homeless are kicked out by their family but thankfully they have found places where they can live. Our fault is not thinking enough of them! I hope this situation will be better in the future!
De Piero Lara 4^H 🙂
I think some people, especially young people but even adults, leave their home because of the problems they have with their family. Sometimes, maybe they got a shock like they lose one of their parents or for example they are not accepted by them or they abbandoned them. If I had a problem with my family I think I would try to speak out, all I have inside, with a friend of mine. Sometimes it is better to talk with someone who is bot from your family thus you are free to express yourself and your feelings without be emberessed. Maybe I would never visits websites but I’d ask someone I know if I can live with her/him, If no to help me.
I think the British websites are really interesting and well done so I agree with you, but I think I would never call that numbers because I would never have the courage leave home to go on the street. As I said, I think I’d call a friend.
According to you, so much people think that an homeless person have to look like a “ragged person”, if I can use these words. I thought it too before I watched the video. Now for me they are just the same as we. Obviously in my country there are prejudices towords them but I think this is because people do not improve theirselves and they want to remain ignorant. But it is not just this, but even the fact that most of homeless people ask you to give them the money. I don’t know if they are protected by the system but I think the answer is “No”, because we can read everyday, on the newspaper, what bad things happen to them.
As you pointed out, there are planty of reason why young people leave theyr homes and become homeless. In our country exists this phenomenum aswell, but in Pordenone we rarely come across homeless young people: there are some people who does not have a roof over them, but they are all middle-age (obviously this is a big deal too). Here we often get in touch with every sort of stereotype, for example: homeless are dangerous, they are to blame for theyr situation because they could find a job, “don’t give them money, or they will buy alcohol and drugs” and so on.
I think that this crisis have only encrased the number of homeless people, because they may have lost theyr job and cannot possibly pay the rant or taxes. But for young people it may be different: if, for any reason, you find yourself homeless, would be helpful finding someone you rely on that could help you, as charity organization, or volunteers or, also, people who knows you, as friends or teachers.
Sara P. 4H
What do you think may be the reasons why young people in Italy leave their homes? Try to find out.
I think young people leave their homes because they want to be independent, or they are tired to live
in a house where they are not supported. There are differtent reasons someone decides to leave the house, or other ones
are just kicked out!
If you have a problem at home, with your family, who can you resort to? Are there institutions you can ask for help? Who could you call? Are there webpages you could browse to look for useful advice and information?
I’ve never faced this kind of problems, so I don’t know what I can do, but I’m sure that I will never ask help at an institution because I know that they will never help me!
I came across this British website and I found it really interesting, well designed, to the point, easy to understand and packed with useful advice. What do you think about it?
The website is amazing, but I don’t understand something. If someone is homeless it means that he or she doesn’t have a computer or an internet connection, so how can someone see this webpage? I think we should do something else, more than something written on a webpage. I think we should focus on that!
What is your mental image of a young homeless person? Are there prejudices in your country towards homeless people? Are they harassed in any way? Are they protected or helped by The System?
A homeless person is someone that is alone, abbandoned. In my country homeless people are not considered, they are inferior…women are considered prostitutes are men are wild. Every evening they leave their children on the road, while they are sleeping, and in the morning they keep them and the money that they earned during the night. There are no institutions! You can see them everywhere, at the restaurants they ask you money, while you are in your car at the traffic ight…they are everywhere! No one cares about them.
-What do you think may be the reasons why young people in Italy leave their homes?
I don’t really know why people should take such an important choice.Leaving home??I’ve never really thought about it and this is probably due to the fact that I can say I’m a lucky person, I mean my parents love me and I rarely argue with them.I tried to find out something about it in the net but unfortunately I didn’t manage to find anything.Maybe young people in Italy leave their homes when they argue with their parents, when they start taking drugs or but this is obviously just for girls, when they get pregnant.
-If you have a problem at home, with your family, who can you resort to? Are there institutions you can ask for help? Who could you call? Are there webpages you could browse to look for useful advice and information?
If I had problems at home, the only two people I could think of if asking for help are my cousin and my grandma.I have no ideas about special numbers or webpages.The only website I managed to find is “Al famminile.com”, that is like a forum but doesn’t seem to be a serious website.
-I came across this British website and I found it really interesting, well designed, to the point, easy to understand and packed with useful advice. What do you think about it?
I think it’s really nice.I’s nice even because it’s not just a site for people dealingwith really big problems but you can just go there if you’re serious to know something about common issues like friends, that are maybe closer to you and you can share something with other people, people that are almost your age and is this sense of community that it’s really nice.
http://www.childline.org.uk
http://www.childline.org.uk/explore/homefamilies/pages/homelessnessrunaway.aspx
http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/
What is your mental image of a young homeless person? Are there prejudices in your country towards homeless people? Are they harassed in any way? Are they protected or helped by The System?
When I think of a homeless person the first image coming to mind is the one of a person with like ruffled hair, long beard(if taking into consideration a man),wrapped up in a blanket. Yes, Ithink in this country there are a lot of prejudices towards homeless people. People normally think they stink, that they are all dirty so they can “bring diseases”(actually I’m not sure about the way I expressed it in English).
i know that homeless people in Italy can look for help, like food, a bed to sleep and stuff in special centers where they are given all what they need to survive.
Luckily I think that Italian young people do not go away from their home because of cultural reasons like being forced to marry, but I think that adolescences go away from their home because they do not feel understood by their parents. Sometimes people think that going away from their problems is easier than face them…Sometimes young people go away from home because they think that their parents are “the problem” so they go away, but sometimes something wrong happen because these teenager understand that they are not mature enough to face their life by themselves. Finally I think that another problem that urges adolescences to go away from their home is that they maybe do not want to go to school anymore and they want to start working but their parents do not allow them to give up studying.
If I have any kind of problem with my parents I prefer to talk with them so we can find a solution. However I know that there is an association here in Pordenone that helps people to talk and face their problems. It is an association made by a group of volunteers and psychologists that are there to help who need to talk and need a support. Five years ago I went there and I woman helped me to face my problems and to live in a better way, but one thing that that woman said to me was “ If you need any kind of help or explanation please, call me”. Personally speaking I have never search advice in the web because I think that is better talking with someone instead of surfing the net that sometimes do not tell the true…But I think that maybe it could help you discover that you are not alone and that other people feel like you. In this way I think that these blogs could help young people to face their problems because their could compare themselves with other adolescences and find out an advice or a solution. I think that this website called “Childline” can be very useful because I think that is easier talking about you problems with someone who does not know you.
My mental image of a young homeless person is an adolescences that live in the street because thinks that there is not another better place where he/she can spent his/her life. Obviously I think that there are many reasons why this guy decides to go away from his home. Unluckily in my country there are many prejudices towards homeless person, I think like in many countries, because we do not know why that person is living in the street and most people think that those people have chose that kind of life maybe because they do not want to work…I disagree with all these opinions but I think that is easy to take those conclusions when you start seeing lot of people sitting on the street asking money. Sometimes near them there is always the police, who control if they have the ID card or they have not the residency permit. I know that in the big city like Milan and Rome there are associations that help homeless people giving them food and dresses and help them if they are sick.
Valentina Porro 4F
I think that in Italy there are few people that leave their home because of phsycal or sexual abuse or pregnansy. I think that this happens in other country and to my mind in Italy a young boy leaves his home due to the arguments with the family about the school or his attitudes.
it is normal to argue with your parents because there are different points of view but a young boy must face with his parents.
if i have problems i would talk to my parents; i prefer my dad about some themes and my mother about other themes but i always speak with them even if sometimes i would run away because we don’t find a common conclusion but i don’ want to leave my home.
I think that webpages and institutions are very important because there are young boys that need help and sometimes could be difficult have a comparison with you parents.
There are lots of prejudices in my country about homelessness and this is because people have a closed minded and a wrong mental images about it.
People think that homeless people must leave our country because they are a problem in our society and they could do something dangerous.
I don’t agree with them because an homeless boy could be a refugee, a slave or a guy that needs help because he is abused.
Giada Blasut 4^-f
1) I think young people in Italy leave their homes mainly because they have problems with their families or because they are drug/alcohol addicts.
2) If I had problems at home, I would probably ask for help from my friends, first, then I would look for some associations willing to help me, like some national or local organizations.
3) I think these websites are really useful and explicative.
4)Young homeless people are usually associated to drug-addiction or to criminal organizations and nobody really wants to have something to do with them, nobody wants to know they exist.
Homeless people become the innocent victims of cruel people and nobody really does anything to help them.
I think that in Italy children could escape because they have arguments with their parents or some kind of violence at home, but even because of drugs (I read the book Gomorra and there’s some chapters where even childrens peddle, which I think is quite shocking).
If I had any problems in my family I would talk about it with my friends or with my aunt, because i know that they will be always there for me and they always try to do the best for me, and then I don’t like that anyone knows my problems, so I won’t write them on the blogs.
Here in Pordenone we don’t have many prejudices about homeless people, because there aren’t many.My mental image of the young homeless people is a dirty boy with long hair and broken shoes sitting on a bench, asking for some money or for something to eat.I don’t think that the System cares about them here, but I know there are associations to help them, like caritas for example.
As you pointed out, I think that a person could have many reasons to choose not to live in his or her home anymore. If everything goes well in life it is difficult to become homeless by choice. All homeless people have a sad story in their past. They could have had problems with their relatives, economical issues or problems with themselves, for example mental health issues, alcohol or drug abuse among others. Of course I have never tought about leave my home and my family but if I were to be in this situation I think I am going to ask one of my friends for help.
I think young people in Italy leave house mainly because of family problems(arguments and violence), cultural reasons and abuses. I write this because there’s a statics which says in Italy there are lots of divorces and histories of racism, but obviously there are cases like the ones written in the article too.
I hope not have problems with my family, but I think I would ask my friends for hospitality or I would search the net to find a place for the night. I don’t know the institution for homeless, but I am sure they exist.
I think it’s a good way to fight the homelesses’ increasing, but these centres are still so few to resolve the problem.
My imagine is a person dressed with used and too large clothes, who suffers for the cold.
I think Italy is one of the worst countries where you could be an homeless, because people consider you like a criminal and not like a person who needs help and often some stupid people harass you only to have some fun or for stupid reasons. And if the System don’t help even a normal person, how could possibly help an homeless?
Homelessness, unfortunately, is a real problem. How can we avoid this situation?
The answer is not easy… we have to delete the reason why a person have nowhere to live…there are people that don’t have a home because they are poor but there are even people, usually young people, that decide to leave their home because they have a sorrow that they are not able to reveal at anyone and , above all, they are afraid to…speak… with their family members. I think that the key-word is just “speak” like the title of the Laurie halse Anderson’s book… Sometimes it is difficult find the right words to explain our feelings and so we hide ourselves behind a barrier that is difficult to cast down. Maybe we think that our parents aren’t the right people to Speak, but it is completely wrong because they are the only people that can help us, that can understand us. We are in the world because of them…
We have to allow them to help us.
We have to find the courage to Speak and share our thoughtfulness.
To my mind our parents are always ready to give us a advice even if we, in some way, disappoint them. Leaving home is not a solution, because it means escape from difficulties, instead we have to face them and we succeed in it only… Speaking…
Lucrezia Busato
I think that in Italy many people leave their home because of drug problems. Many people are addicted and probably nobody in their family wants to help them. In fact, if you walk near some homelesses, they may ask you for money, but not for food. This happened to my grandparents. They were walking in Pordenone and a man stopped them, asking for money. My grandma said she would give him a sandwich, but he denied. He only wanted cash, probably to buy drugs.
The guy who was interviewed made me think how much stupid are some people. His own parents sent him on the streets just because he was homosexual. That’s ridiculous. I mean, he is your son! How could you possibly hate him for something lime that? I’m quite shocked. I couldn’t imagine such that stupidity in human race.
About personal problems: actually I didn’t have (fortunately!) very difficult problems yet. But I know I have friends and relatives I can believe and talk to. I know tey will always be there for me. I don’t think browsing the web would be very helpful, beacuse people don’t know me and don’t know what happens. I admit I google to find the solution to every “light” problem, but personal questions are not meant for the internet.
I think that in Italy the fact of leaving is less than in other countries, as our English teacher pointed out; but this issue could happen if there is a difficult family’s situation ( for example divorce or separation of the parents), or the family has economical problems, or the boy in consideration is stifled by the school or what else and it becomes stressful for him: in fact not everybody is able to react in a good way and to overcome problems in a “normal” way. This would not be my case, but if i would decide to leave I’m sure i could resort to my relatives (my grandma, my aunt) or my dearest friends, i’m sure they would help me immediately! But i must confess that i wouldn’t know where to go in the case when i would have nobody by my side. I really don’t know what institution i could ask for help and i’ve never consulted any webpages, so i wouldn’t be prompt for the situation, but i think i would manage it by myself.
I think the two British webpages are very good made up: the titles aim directly at the point, the arguments catch readers’ attention and the information is well schematized. But i think that instruments like these blogs can’t possibly reduce or limit or help materially homeless people: it is a responsibility of the System first, and then even ours. We can contribute giving this poor young people money or even some food but it is the State the one who should protect and help this people to hope for a possible future. But unfortunately it is not done and for this reason the number of this poor people is increasing more and more, overall in the big cities.
I think a young like that feels naked, is smelly and perhaps he is even very hungry and thirsty. I think it is not an easy life, living on passers-by, sleeping on doorways.. and at the same time watching all around the world going on. I would really like to do something for these people but i’m sure my help would be not enough. It is not fair that some people have to accept ways of living like this one, but i think they first have to make other people (who judge them badly) realize that they are not ruining the landscape of the earth, but they can do something good like everyone.
Usually, young people run away from home in order to attract attention to itself, maybe because of parents who always quarreling or when the boy is not considered, and so he tries to flee to worry parents and make them understand that he doesn’t feel loved by his parents. The reason why guy run away from home are the same all over the world, with the exception of some customs and religions where young people are forced to do things against their will, such as marriage. Another important reason is the context in which a person lives, if he isn’t at his ease in the family, or at school, he tries to escape. Often, the boys try to escape from physical violence, such as physical or sexual abuse, while others prefer to run away rather than face the situations. Often, it is enough talking to solve many problems.
If I had a problem at home, certainly before I would try to talk to my parents, but if this isn’t possible, there are many institutions like centrepoint, and I would ask them for help. They try to solve your problems and, if it is necessary, they can also find a new home for you. Internet is a very powerful way of communication, where you can find a lot of information. There are many browses that have been done on purpose to help troubled teens, but there are also “blue numbers”, that you can call for help.
This website is truly original and useful, not only for children but also for adults. It is a site that offers a lot of information, that make you realize that the things you see and hear on television is not a fantasy, but really exist. There aren’t only explanation and information, but also the true stories that kids can write anonymously, telling their problems and seeking help and comfort from someone else. The creators of this website have been very good at putting together fun, free time and a way to help young people with advices and information.
when I think of young homeless people, I think of the guys who are no different from us, because they go to school, they do the same thing that we do, but instead of living in a family, they living in a centrepoint, where they are followed and helped. I don’t think that in Italy there are prejudices against the homeless. Boys and girls, who don’t live in a family, have faced difficult situations and therefore they have had to fend for themselves and then they have learned to live and appreciate all that they have.
I think that the reasons why young people in Italy leave their homes may be, first of all, problems with their family for example violence or arguments, but even problems at school with bullying or sexual abuse of which maybe a young person doesn’t want to speak so he decides to leave his home.
If I have problems at home I wouldn’t know who I can resort to. I mean it depends on the kind of problem because if it isn’t a big problem I will speak to my parents and try to solve the situation, but if it is a big problem I seriously wouldn’t know who I can talk. I don’t know if in Italy there are web pages for homeless people but I don’t think so. Maybe, now that I know that web pages like that exist in England, I think I could try to ask them what I can do, but I’m sure that I will never leave my home!
I think I’ve never see a young homeless person, I see adults but never a young person. But I imagine them on the streets asking for charity. In my country I think there is lot of prejudice towards homeless people because here by now is normal judge the book by the cover. But they are people like us, they’re not different from us, they only don’t have all the fortune that we have. I don’t know exactly how many system there are that help homeless people but I don’t think are a lot. We should help more these people.
I my opinion the reasons why people live their home in Italy are
– physical or sexual abuses
– drugs
– arguments or violence in the family
Those are just the more important.
I could resort to my friends and my teachers, than I could go to a consulting sevices
Sometimes share my problems with someone I don’t know is easier, so I would go to some website like Yahoo Answer, where I could find other’s opinion about everything.
I also heard about Childline by a friend of mine and I think it is very usefull for the one who really needs and help because it gives you help or simply news or info that the newscast won’t give you.
I imagine a homeless like someone really really sad inside but very strong outside.
And then, alone, scared to death and with the need of protection.
I guess they are not protect by the sistem, even if I saw some hospital giving them a pillow or a banch to sleep in. But i think it’s not enough, they are just left alone.
About the video, the guy has been kicked out because he is omosexual and I think it’s really sad that parents leave you just because you are not like the other.
You should love your children unconditionally.
I post this only today because the network yesterday did not work.
In my opinion the main reason why homeless young people in Italy leave their homes is the relationship between the family and the person who decides to leave his family. Italian families tend to be less open-minded than families in UK or in USA, and it is considered much more important than in other countries. In Italy we have big problems with abuses and violence within the family. We have even problem with sexual abuse and rape. Another reason may be some problems at school or the living of stressful situations .
Stating that I’ve never had such problems with my family, If it occurred I would ask for help at school, or ask to my friend for advice. There are even some websites and telephone numbers that try to explain to you what you have to do, and where can you ask for help. But it would be a very stressful situation, and I may be shocked and lose the control of my behavior. For me a lot of people that now are homeless, were totally going nut, and they were no longer able to understand what they were doing. And this madness was probably caused by some shock or by the unsustainable way of living that they conduced.
My mental image of a young homeless people is a bit confused.. I think I’ve never made a distinction between young an old homeless; I only noticed that they needed help, but what can I do for them? When I was a child and in hot summers saw I homeless people wandering around with their coat put on , I wondered if my mother would give me permission to ask If they wanted to leave it at our place, so they may feel better and less flushed. This was a thought of a child, but it would be so good if we gave just a little help to people who can’t afford what we have, and can’t live how we live. And, most important, that can’t be loved just as we are, because they are different, they may stink and they don’t have a bed where to shelter at night. There are some association that help homeless people, but they are too few to make the difference. They are out of the system, and the system doesn’t see them. They are invisible, but the system, WE have to understand that they are as alive as us, and they feel the same emotions, the same fear and sadness. It’s difficult to stay in touch with someone who seems unpleasant, and I admit that I would be bewildered too, but in a long time there would be not one, but two people living better.
I think that homelessness is a problem that is common both in Italy and in the rest of the world. And more and more young people leave their house because of arguments with their family or because of problem in school, maybe the failure of a year or even maybe the too high marks and loneliness by other school mates because you are the top in the class. This two examples are the most popular one in Italy. I think is normal for young people to quarrel with his parents; I quarrelled an infinity of time with my father and my mother, but I had never thought to leave my house, because your parents are always ready to make peace with you, to ask sorry and to love you. But I know there are parents that after a quarrel don’t speak with his son for some days in order to close the relationship between them. And is normal that someone decided to escape from his parents. This happened to one of my football mates. He, a Romanian young man, escaped with his brother from their house after a strong argument with his family and now he lives in a children’s home, sharing his room with other guy, that haven’t a family near them. Than there are problems in school and too many young run away from the parents because of pressure in succeeding in school, or even there too many young, who commit suicide because of the failure of the year. I hope that this young who escape will be helped by the structure who work for them, and even the Government help them with special structure, because, in my opinion, the Government could do more to solve, in part and not at all (because I think is impossible) this problem.
Riccardo Sartori 4°F
In my opinion young people in Italy leave their home because they have problems with school; due to teachers or parents that tell you to do your best and make you feel under pressure. Or because they have problems with drugs or alcohol;
they run away from home if they don’t have a family or friends that help them.
If I have a problem the first people I would talk to are my parents. They understand me and for that reason I always talk to them.
Personally I wouldn’t go to a website because is better to speak with a person that knows you. But there are people that unfortunately don’t have a family to speak to or they have it but they don’t feel to talk to and for this reason websites are very useful. They can help you compare yourself with other people with the same problems.
My mental image of a young homeless person is a boy wrapped in a blanket on a street corner or in a bench. But it is just an image because i have never seen a young homeless person, I have only see an homeless once. It was an old man that was sleeping in a bench.
In my country unfortunately there are lots of prejudices towards homeless people; they say they pickpoket or that they are a burden on society because they don’ t work and they always ask for money.
I would tell to them that there are a reason why they need money! They could not have found a job or they leave their home because they were abused.
There are lots of reasons and we cannot generalized and hate them for this, because most of the time it is not their fault. It can happen to any of us!
Valentina Paronuzzi 4^ F
Emanuele Li Calzi IV F
1) I agree with the reason below, I found them all right. I personally want to focus on an important point. Italy is, now a day, a cosmopolitan country, and so there are a lot of religious current that often don’t get along. This is therefore the cause of many disagreements between families, but also amongst members of a family. This problem leads many teenagers to run away from home.
2) Being at the heart of these problem is really a difficult thing. The thing that I would recommend is to speak to another person. Now, the difficult aspect is choose the right person to speak with. Unfortunately friends are not always such as the word tell. On the other hand it is proper to say that there are doctors that help people in need. I understand that is very difficult to tell our story or our personal past events to someone we don’t know; but is the right way to begin a path in order to reach our happiness and often to take our revenge on the murderers of our life. Here in Italy there also a lot of center specialized on that, but unfortunately there isn’t the proper advertaisment, so many times people doesn’t know about their existence.
3) I found that website really interesting and well designed. It could certainly help young people who need help. In the “backstage” seem to be there experts that are ready to spread his help through chat online, speaking activities and other projects that want to prevent extreme acts like suicide..
This site is definitely a step forward for the improvement of these kind of problems.
It’s difficult to know for sure how many people go missing or run away from home in Italy. This is because cases of missing people are often not reported or recorded. The boys leave home because they have problems or don’t feel understood by the family or the situation in their family is very bad that the only thing that they want is to escape from that reality or for abuse, stress, lack of affection or pregnancy. They run away because they don t find a person who can help them or only a person that listen them and give them an advice.
If I have problems at home or in general usually I talk to my parents but if you don t have a parents that listen you, it s more difficult. They can help you to overcome some obstacles that you find during your journey. If there are cases of abuse I call the police or someone who can help me, there are some institution that can help you with your problem. But in our country there isn’t much information about this problem.
The website that she have found, are very interesting and I like them because in my opinion this is a way to help the people that have problem giving advise to overcome the situation. But is important too for the people that don t have problem to understand how this people live and maybe they can help them.
A homeless person is a boy or girl that wants to escape from is reality, because she/he is in shock. There are some prejudices in our country about homeless but I don t listen about it. Because the person that think bad things about these people it s ‘crazy’ itself. Because you don t now the story, what s happened to this person so you can t say bad things about them. In my opinion they aren t help or protected by the system, but I don t know because nobody give us information about homeless.
I agree with the reasons above. Probably young people run away from home due to problems with drugs or alcohol, physical abuse or mental violence. The only thing, I think in Italy there are less people that escape because of family arguments or cultural reasons because we have, generally speaking, really protective family.
Fortunately I’ve never had such big problems, but I wolud speak about it with friends at first, and then look for help by some associations. I’m not very informed about instuitions in Italy, but I would think about the consulting room in my area.
My mental immage of a homeless is a sort of a scruffy beggar, not really educated, but I now understood that it isn’t always like this. I don’t think they are protected by the Sistem, but that the majority of the help comes from voluntary organization.
What do you think may be the reasons why young people in Italy leave their homes? Try to find out.
I haven’t met someone who left his home yet, so I can only try to imagine why should a young person do something like that.
It could be because of the gap generation. The way the teens and earlier twenties live is no more the same as our parents did: some of the youth goes out all the night and return at four o’clock starting from their fifties, while our parents asking theirselves if it is normal or not. This, and other habits, and the misunderstanding generated from them, coul be some of the reasons which convince you to leave you.
Another could be the desire of liberty, fredoom and independence; it is not uncommon in youth people, is it?
If you have a problem at home, with your family, who can you resort to? Are there institutions you can ask for help? Who could you call? Are there webpages you could browse to look for useful advice and information?
I would at first try to clarify the problem with them; if it reveals itself vane, then I have plenty of people to talk with. If I want to talk with someone but I don’t want my problems to be in the hand of public, I would just google something as “oh, I have a problem with my parents, what could I do?” and read the yahoo answers. If I am not satisfied yet, newspaper has usually a rubric which collects people’s letters and questions and give possibly solutions or reassuring tipps. And, obviously, there are tons of blog in the web.
What are the prejudices towards homeless people? What are the stereotypes people have of them? Read the following article and see what young homeless people think.
Least but no last, prejudices. The problem in Italy are not the prejudices towards homeless people; I mean, italian have prejudices towards all. Some examples? towards other complexions, stuff “made in china” -only when it is sold by chinese, not when it costs a lot and has a big brand on the top- towards food, the temperature of tomorrow, and so on. It is like italians think to live in the fable world, and everything which does not shine is to see as bad; that contains homeless people too.
How do homeless young people view