This study describes the reasons why street children in Jakarta, Indonesia choose to leave a life on the street and the steps that are taken to exit the street successfully. Also described are the street entry process, life on the street, street disengagement, life after the street, and the role of service providers. Nine key informants (six former street children and three workers who work with homeless children) participated in in-depth interviews that revealed that troubled family life is the most common cause of street entry, and while street life offers much freedom and excitement it is also the source of great danger to street children, and street disengagement often takes a number of attempts before a “successful” exit is fully negotiated. Forming trusting relationships with street- based outreach workers and attending NGOs that emphasize love and care were highly influential in aiding with street exit. Also key to a successful exit over time is the development of new skills and knowledge, as well as a positive sense of self and an identity that is not connected to street involvement. / Graduate / 0630 / 0628 / brendenrbtaylor@gmail.com

This paper looks at the issue of homelessness from an emic perspective of a homeless people themselves. The categories under discussion here, and the order of importance in which they are presented arises from the context of the street and has been determined by the research itself. Besides a reference to a typology of homelessness it focuses primarily on the personal - individual strategies of survival, the needs of people on the street, their activities and economic behavior. In addition there is a space for the voice of homeless people's closest associates, charity workers. The paper also applies topics such as exclusion homeless people and outlines some possible solutions. The research methods employed are, semi- structured narrative interviews, participate and non-participate observation.