youth shelters

Janice Erlbaum recounts her experiences working with the residents of a homeless shelter she lived at more than twenty years earlier, reflecting on her friendship with one troubled young woman who reminded Janice of the girl she used to be.

A columnist describes her adolescence as a runaway in New York City, explaining why she exchanged her home for life on the city streets, her struggle to balance school, the shelter system, and her battle to rescue herself from street life.