Text 7. Homeless Young homelessness is a problem which is getting worse and worse. In Britain there are about 150,000 teenagers who have run away from home.

Many people think that homeless teenagers have run away from home because they can't get their own way - for example, they can't watch their favourite TV programme because their parents want to watch the news. This is very seldom true. If teenagers leave home, it is usually because they can see no other way out of a very difficult situation.

Out of all the people who are homeless, the under-18s are the most difficult to help. They often end up squatting (occupying an empty house) or sleeping rough (sleeping on the streets).

Shelter, the National Campaign for the Homeless, recently gave young homeless people diaries and asked them to write about their situations. A 17-year-old boy from Manchester, who had been homeless in London for over a year, wrote: "I really need some money desperately now. I'm starving and I just can't handle it any more. I've been getting into fights while I’m sleeping rough on the streets. It's beyond a joke now”.

If young people become homeless, it can damage them for life. A press officer for Shelter says, "One of the first things to go is their health. They also get very depressed, because it's so degrading. Many suffer from bad feet, asthma and heavy colds that won't go away. Normally, if you have a heavy cold, you go to bed for a few days - homeless people can't do that. Then there's the problem of malnutrition, which is normally a Third World problem. But living on the streets, chips and coffee might be all they get.”

“There is also a risk of them becoming involved in prostitution and crime. In fact this problem is so great in London, that the police have a special unit which searches the streets for young people in dangerous situations. "Just last weekend we found a young boy of 14 who'd left his home in the Midlands and had come to London looking for work with only Ј1.50 in his pocket," a police sergeant says. "Sometimes there are cases of missing boys and girls who are never found again. They just disappear.”

Young homelessness is a difficult problem which is getting worse and worse. If a young person ends up on the streets, it can be very difficult to go back home. That is why it is important that young people know who they can go to for help before they leave home. There are organisations such as Shelter, Childline and Cemrepoint where young people can get advice, and help.

A press officer for Centrepoint says, "What we tell young people is: don't let home on the spur of the moment. Seek help before the situation gets impossible either from friends, your school or by phoning Childline."

And the next time you see young people sleeping rough on the streets - they may have problems you know nothing about.

(2330)

Notes:

way out – выход;

to handle – терпеть;

heavy colds - сильная простуда;

malnutrition – недоедание;

a special unit – машина;

on the spur – поспешность.

Text 8. Russians Distrust Globalization Which They Don't Understand