You are a fucking hero, working at a childrens shelter

I appreciate the compliment, but honestly I find it a bit depressing that taking care of kids who don't have a home is considered heroic.

<shameless plug> Homeless youth are perhaps the most at risk population we have in North America and there is no system in place which adequately provides for them. Lockdown facilities, juvie, and other high-security centers are only good for the most unstable of homeless youth. For the majority the system that we have just ends up damaging them further and fosters resentment against authority. There are some more accommodating facilities, such as the one I work at, but not enough to handle of volume of children who need them.

The worst part is that there is a non-trivial amount of kids who don't really belong in the system at all. We've seen too many children who had no real problems end up in custody of the state, such as children who's families have died and have no legal guardian, and in my state there aren't any facilities set up to work with them. They get put into the same system as everyone else, often interacting and learning from youth who do have behavioral or substance issues.

Most importantly, the system that we have right now doesn't give homeless children enough opportunities to find adults who are going to actually love and care for them, especially boys.

If you are in a position to do so, please volunteer your time to a homeless youth program. The kids need positive influences in their lives and seeing people who aren't locked into the patterns of poverty, abuse, crime, and addiction that many of them are used to is so necessary.</shameless plug>