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Homeless Youth Seeking Health and Life-Meaning Through Popular Culture and the Arts |
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| Authors: | Malaika Mutere Adeline Nyamathi Ashley Christiani Jeff Sweat Glenna Avila Leo Hobaica Jr |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of African American Studies, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California, USAmmutere@uci.edu;3. School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA;4. David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA;5. Social Science Department, University of Wisconsin–Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin, USA;6. Community Arts Partnership, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, USA;7. Department of Character Animation, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, USA |
| Abstract: | This pilot study demonstrates the roles of popular culture, media and the arts in the health and self-esteem of homeless youth. Reflecting focus group findings from a representative sample of street and sheltered youth, this article provides a qualitative assessment of what they advocated as an effective intervention that would promote the receipt of health services within their vulnerable community. Unlike alienating disease models where adverse health behaviors and outcomes determine intervention success or failure, a culturally-sensitive approach which provided skills mentoring and engaged the youth as health advocates seemed likely to produce important recovery incentives and enhanced health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | community arts drug use health communication homeless youth peer-to-peer mentoring popular culture positive youth development prevention youth arts education |