HOMELESS CHILDREN IN MEXICO

BY: ASHLEY GREGERSON

Street Kids and Market Kids

• The homeless children are generally called “street kids” meaning children who work, live and sleep in the streets, often lacking contact with their family

• Market kids are children who work in the streets and markets begging or selling, but they live with their families

• The most common age of children found on the streets is from age 6-18

Why do they end up homeless?

• The top reasons children are homeless are: -divorce of parents -family and domestic violence -illness of the parents -alcohol/drug use of the child or adult -one or both parents in prison• In Mexico most of the disabled children are sent

off to the streets because they can’t contribute to the family

Statistics

• Mexico city has the highest amount of street kids: 1.9 million children

• In 1996, UNICEF estimated 40 million children were living and working on the streets. That was 8% of the total population.

• 44% of children today are market kids in Mexico

Where it’s happening

• There are street kids and market kids all over Mexico, some areas have more.

• Its mainly happening in Central Mexico, near Mexico City

Disabled street kids

• A detailed investigation showed that over half of the street kids are disabled.

• Mexico has 2 million disabled children in orphanages and children’s homes.

• These children will never find education, so none of them will ever find jobs

What can you do to help?

• You can make donations to Mexico Child Link to help disabled children in Mexico find safe, caring homes.

• Make a better life for a child with a learning disablitly

Support Groups

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