Having lived in SF, Portland, Seattle, and now Vancouver, I am all too familiar with 'street kids'. To even a casual observer, I think it would be obvious to recognize that most of them are on the streets by choice. Strange that the author seemed surprised by this. They are young and typically jovial. Often, I see signs for money that suggest their ambivalence to ever receive any. "Don't worry, I'll spend it on beer" one reads. In the city here, they like to put tip cups on hook and wire to 'go fishing' with. For me, I feel like these people are misguided escapists. Why try and live the antithesis of a corporate life in a city? It's because they WANT you to notice them. Components of their identity could not exist outside of an urban fabric. I would be interested to know how long the average street kid stays a street kid. Seems it would get old real fast. I wonder if they ever stop to ask themselves, "What is it, exactly, that I'm working toward here?".