Moscow's ram wav station children

WORKING WITH YOUTH AT RISK" series. Issue II)

for earning daily bread. On the other hand, the rigidity of state-run

institutions leads to repeated escapes and the understanding that "you

can't change anything and your opinion doesn't matter". This in turn

leads to distrust and sometimes to hatred of the adult world and a belief

that all you have to do is survive until you are 18 and then everything

will change. Alas, by the time the child turns 18, his system of values

will be so distorted that it will leave him no chance for re-socialization.

Newcomers on the street who are looking for a job (collection of

empty bottles, goods handling, etc.) can't get it officially because

any employer must report them to the police or custody authorities

who are required to return the runaway to the place he escaped from.

At the same time, living on the street, they see their comrades who

-steal for a living) making more money) and regard any assistance to

lhem as granted. Due to their age, even the children with no traumatic

experience like domestic violence or loss of a parent display a

very low resistance level to the reference group values. Sooner or

later, the child accepts this way of life while violence and inertia only

speed up the process. Besides, these children live in an asocial environment

which has NO MENTORS capable of explaining that stealing

is bad not because you are likely to end up in a prison but

because it's BAD. In addition, street children distrust adults too

much to believe their moralizing.

In fact, the child has to make a choice: put up with violence and

return to the place he ran away from or live as an outlaw. Living on

"welfare" looks appealing: "I can get free food and clothing and'I can

do whatever 1 fancy". Unfortunately, the child has a very' vague idea of

WHAT he actually WANTS. Given that dependence on chemical substances

altering the state of mind is prevalent among the street children

and comes for granted, the teenager sooner or later starts using

I hem which only accelerates the degradation process.

hi the course of the joint project. Kvartal rehabilitation center has

provided assistance to 12 homeless children referred to the center by

>ireet workers from both organizations (NAN Foundation and MSF).

Thanks to the cooperation with MSF, our people were able to

establish a trust-based contact with the groups of homeless children.

The children had an opportunity to get acquainted with the rehabili-
tation environment stall from the NAN Foundation which made possible

to better motivate the children to undergo an inpatient treatment

course.

Another positive aspect is that the MSI' and NAN Foundation

experts can provide a social follow-up on a given child during the

treatment course and after its completion.

Of the 7 teenagers undergoing the rehab course at Kvartal, 2 took

a complete course while another 5 stayed at the center for fairly long.

One of them (with the MSF assistance) later found a job. Three

teenagers received assistance at the Path to Home shelter.

We are sure that positive results can be only ensured by a stageby-

stage structure and close links between all the rehabilitation environment

components.

Assistance should be diversified. The basic goal is not encouraging

the welfare mentality but helping the teenager to find its place in

society.

We believe that joint activities of various bodies of authority would

prove very' useful. The rehabilitation environment should be comprised

of the following stages:

• Street work

Daytime center(low-threshold center)

Social lodging house

• Shelter

Employment service

Foster parents' school

• Psychological and social advice to biological parents

Street work: social work on the streets of Moscow is currently carried

out by the M S I; social service and social workers from the NAN

Foundation. The city's Street Children center which was actually

established for that purpose doesn't do any real social work. Anyway,

we have never seen any member of the Street Children center on a

field assignment although we regularly ran into p e o p l e from other

organizations helping the homeless (like the Charily Fund, Active

Assistance to Children, and Salvation Army).

M O M (IVV'S mi I W W S T A T I O N CHILDREN

WORKING Willi YOl Til AT RISK" series. Issue III

Low-threshold daytime center: is meant both for actual and

potential runaways. Apart from the MSF daytime center, there exists

a number of low-threshold clubs (state-run and non-government)

although these, being situated in Moscow's residential neighborhoods,

focus on neglected children. Besides, the number is too small

to accommodate all the street children.

Lodging houses for homeless children: This should be a place

where a child who, while tired of living on the street but not yet ready

to go to an orphanage, could spend a few nights knowing that he won't

be locked up nor sent back to where he ran away from. Controlling

their behavior would be difficult but obviously staying at the house

would do less harm to the child as compared to staying on the street.

Besides, this way the girls would stand a better chance of not getting

involved into prostitution. It may be worthwhile to specify the condition

that the lodging house is only open for those kids who regularly

visit the daytime center (to have classes and see the psychologist). Го-

date, no lodging houses of this kind are available in the city.

Shelters: Today there are at least 12 shelters in Moscow, all affiliated

to the Department of social protection. The admittance procedure

IN strictly regulated: a homeless child first must have a physical checkup

at a specially designated children's clinic. However, the clinics

don't provide any psychological support while the children's freedom

of movement is severely restricted. As a result, the children run away

hack to the street. The only shelter in Moscow welcoming street children

is the Path to I lome shelter.

Employment service: A closer contact with employment agencies

has to be maintained. It would be reasonable to give the target audience

an opportunity to become legitimate — have a job, even if lowpaid,

and a place to live. (The shelters also should maintain contacts

with educational institutions having own hostels).

Foster parents' school: Should be set up at each institution (an

orphanage or a shelter) taking care of parentless children with the purpose

of adopting these children by foster parents. These programs are

currently being implemented only in 2 or 3 of the city's shelters.

Psychological and social advice to parents: The main job of this

мал ice would be prevention of family break-ups and prevention of kids'
running away from problem families. Currently these functions are to

be performed by the state bodies in charge of custody, commissions for

juvenile affairs and protection of minors' rights. In actual fact, what

these bodies are doing now is only retroactive response to the fact of a

family break-up, the child's running away or physical abuse.

Social workers from various organizations and rehabilitation

environment levels have no idea about any other bodies doing the

same job. While cooperation between the NAN Foundation and

MSF has continued for a lew years, this project became the first

opportunity for the Foundation's staff to work with homeless children

on the street. Our offers to undergo a rehab course initially met

an ironic response from the children. Many children became sullen

or rude upon hearing of the word '"clinic" (Kvartal's). The first

teenagers admitted to Kvartal were totally unprepared to comply

with the center's regime and usually stayed at the in-patient department

for no more than 2-3 days. They refused to continue the treatment

and left, however, they quickly spread the word about the center

that doesn't force the children to stay. For homeless children (as

probably for anyone else) it's important to know that they would

not be forced to do something even for their own good. You can 7

force people to happiness.

The biggest obstacle for the project turned out to be the activity of

state and municipal bodies of authority responsible for providing assistance

to homeless children. Many children reported thai they had

escaped from orphanages because of maltreatment and violence.

Homeless children picked up on the street are sent to clinics lor disinfection

and medical checkup only to be later sent to an orphanage or a

shelter. Very often the children don't wait until the orphanage and

escape from the clinic because medical treatment doesn't comprise

any rehab components needed by the children who view their stay at

the clinic as grounding with a perspective to be sen! back to where

they have already escaped from. A closed character oi these institutions,

the absence of public control, and the lack o| reliable statistics

make monitoring of their activities difficult.

The children themselves view their clinic experieiiee very negatively.

Even if a child consents to an orphanage, he would do anything to

in Mi IV i iVV \ RAM WAV sI VI 1c >\ CIIII.DRHN

"WORKING WITH YOUTH AT RISK" series. Issue III

stay away from the clinic. This fear is caused by a negative and even

aggressive attitude to homeless children by the medical staff.

Overall concept: Ideally, all the organizations involved in the

process must have a general understanding of the rehabilitation environment,

the homelessness phenomenon and other conditions they

have to face. If psychoactive substance abuse is currently perceived as a

malady by one authority and as laxity — by another, we are going to have

a corresponding public attitude towards the children and their parents.

No child should be placed into a child care institution without his

consent, at least, that should apply to all children aged over I I years.

Today, nobody is interested in the teenager's opinion, he is automatically

sent to a corresponding local institution without even an attempt

to analyze the reasons for his repeated escapes from there. This is a

violation of the minor citizen's rights (of which he is unaware).

STORIES

Anya, 15 years, Moscow.

We met her nearby Alckseevskaya subway station.

— Have you been here long?

— A third year.

— Why?

— Mom is a heavy drinker...

The mother is an alcoholic deprived of her parent rights. Anya has

a sister who lives at another orphanage (the girls are registered in different

districts and were placed in different orphanages).

This is not the first Anya's escape from a child care institution.

Having escaped, she mostly lives on the street although sometimes

she does visit home to take a shower. She is reluctant to speak of her

life. Her requests are more like demands. It appears that she regards

every adult as a milk-cow. Whenever her requests are turned down,

she is greatly offended and seems to be sincere about it.

Yura, 16 years, Moscow.

Been staying on the street lor almost 3 years. The family is large but

the mother was deprived of parent rights due to alcoholism. Been to an
orphanage several times but thinks of everybody involved in his orphanage

plight as enemies. Proudly speaks of his escapes and living on the

street. Has been a patient at clinic #6, Tushino and Morozovskaya

clinics, of which speaks negatively. A rare visitor to the children's center

believing the atmosphere there is dull and requires one to be sober.

- No big deal!

Suffers from chemical dependency (inhales glue vapors, often uses

other chemicals). Towards the end of the project, was sentenced to a

time in prison for stealing.

Slava, 16 years, Moscow

The parents are divorced. I las good manners, stands out from the

rest of the children. Been on and off the street for almost 3 years,

recently has been staying on the street longer.

- Your parents are worried about you'?

- I come home. Sometimes...(smiling)

- Why don't you bee id home'?

- They don't need me anyway, they scream at me all the time.

All they do to keep me happy is giving me money.

According to other teenagers, Slava used to often turn up with gifts

from his parents like roller skates or a bike. Recently has been using

psychoactive substances on a regular basis. Developing apathy, several

times was seen nursing a hangover. Doesn't want to go to the clinic,

believing he can kick the habit any time.