For all the lip service paid to "protecting our children," actions - or the lack thereof - speak far louder than any words.
Homeless and young in Minnesota
It's a life of street fights and hardships, say teens and the shelters that provide them with food and support.
His bedtime is when he feels safe enough to sleep.
His alarm clock is the sun.
His transportation is his feet and freight trains.
"I'm homeless," Mack said. "I have been on and off since I was 14."
An estimated 550 to 650 Minnesota youth 17 and younger are homeless on any given night, said a 2006 Wilder Foundation report. It also estimates there are 1,300 young adults, 18 to 21, who are homeless on an average night.
The survey shows that the number of homeless young people in Minnesota has stayed consistent the past few years. But other resources fluctuate.
"Particularly in the summer we see homeless teens," said Rob Czernik, the ad-hoc organizer of Sisters of Camelot, which provides free food to homeless people in Minneapolis. "There are lots of kids who have been kicked out of their houses. A lot of kids because of being gay or lesbian find themselves being disowned by their families."
Young people 21 and younger are some of the least visible and most vulnerable segments of the homeless population, the Wilder study said.
Factors leading to homelessness vary. The Wilder study said 63 percent of the homeless teen population said fighting frequently with parents or guardians is their main motivation to leave. Other reasons include parental neglect, violence in the house, sexual abuse, pregnancy or sexual orientation.
One of the first youth crisis centers in the country, the Bridge, was started in 1970 in south Minneapolis by two nuns. The Bridge's mission is "to help resolve family conflicts, provide shelter for youth and provide counseling services with no charge," said Nikki Beasley, an emergency service program supervisor.
She said the center has seen an increase in the number of youth coming in for help.
Homelessness isn't apparent by looking at someone. "There would be no way to know anything was wrong with these kids unless they opened their mouth and told you," Beasley said. "They look like regular kids."
With demand for youth shelters, outreach centers and other youth programs increasing, the Legislature this year appropriated $1 million to fund the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. It provides $500,000 a year for two years to improve and expand emergency shelters, transitional housing and outreach.
Life on the streets requires street smarts and a sense of protection.
"I've had guns and knives pulled on me. I've been stabbed a few times. My nose has been broken more than a dozen times. But I've also put people in the hospital myself," said Quill, a 22-year-old runaway from Oregon who travels with Pancake, a Collie/German Shepard mix.
On the streets, homeless teens know the fittest survive. Forty-eight percent of homeless teens have been physically abused, the Wilder report said.
"I've been in a lot of fights," Mack said. "You have to fight to survive out here. If you don't fight to survive you'll die. Someone will kill you."
