Review of All God's Children: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families (Hardcover)

This is a disturbing and challenging look at the growing culture of street kids and the street families evolving in cities around us.

As a teacher I watched bright students, with great home lives, grow up and be drawn into dangerous groups. Some ended up on the streets. Danielle, one of the youths responsible for the murder in Portland, could have been one of my students.

As someone who works in an urban area and comes in daily contact with the growing number of kids who are living on the street, the book rang true to my experience. As a parent and educator it is information that is timely and important. Why are so many young people choosing danger and violence? Why is the life on the street drawing bright kids who have other options? What is the street culture offering them and how do we respond?

This will be a hard read for those in social service agencies who find themselves working so hard to earn the trust of street kids. If what Denfeld writes is true, then they will need to modify the way they provide services to keep from enabling kids to stay out on the street. This may well be a new paradigm, one where some kids on the street are victims but just as many are volunteers.

I hope this book helps to begin a dialogue about what is happening to the teens in our families and in our communities.




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