The Facts
1/3 of all youth living in families who receive social assistance has at least one chronic health problem.
The mortality rate of street youth is 13 times higher than for other youth, and they die from preventable diseases.
Like other homeless people, street kids have problems related to lack of cleanliness, inadequate diet and exposure to the elements. Street youth are younger and still growing, so they are more vulnerable to these problems and to the violence, drugs, alcohol, sexually transmitted diseases and mental-health problems of life on the streets.
There has been an increase in intravenous drug use, hepatitis and HIV infection among street youth who, despite being very sexually active -many work as prostitutes- usually have unprotected sex.
For additional Youth Tobacco Cessation Information refer to the Canadian Tobacco Cessation Research.
