Pathways out of Streetism: Rethinking Youth Development through Economic Strengthening Interventions for Street-Connected Youth In Urban Ghana

Background and Purpose: Against the backdrop of the high economic vulnerability and associated social vices among street-connected youth (SCY) in urban communities in Ghana, economic-strengthening interventions (ESI) have been undertaken to address the increase of such a population and their hardships. However, the continued implementation of such programs has not culminated in conclusive evidence to drive policy on vulnerable youth’s economic and social development given the limited empirical evidence on the interventions’ contribution to beneficiaries’ well-being. Guided by Amartya Sen’s capability framework, this study sought to examine the nature of the interventions and their contributions to the economic and overall well-being of beneficiary youth.

Methods: This study adopted a phenomenological design to co-construct meaning and interpretation of participants’ understanding of the role of ESI in addressing economic vulnerability among young people. It was conducted in Accra and Kumasi given the plethora of SCY who experience streetism and the associated dangers. This study engaged 64 participants consisting of 60 SCY beneficiaries and four administrators of the interventions. These participants were purposively sampled based on their experience and knowledge about streetism among youth and interventions implemented to address the issue. Data was collected from participants through interviews, which were in English or Twi. Using ATLAS.ti, data obtained was analyzed using Cresswell’s thematic analytical framework.

Findings: ESI for SCY included economic-capacity building and financial support programs. Economic capacity-building programs offered beneficiaries technical and vocational training, entrepreneurship training, and mentorship. Financial support was offered through loan schemes, grants, and saving group. Youth’s enrollment in the interventions contributed to an improvement in their economic capability and asset building. By receiving vocational and technical training, many SCY experienced a boost in their employability and associated income-earning opportunities. The interventions also contributed to psychosocial well-being outcomes, namely behavior reformation, enhanced social interactions and bonding, increased school enrollment, better functioning, and improved nutrition of youth and their families.

Conclusion and Implication: The study’s findings show that economic-capacity building is a formidable strategy for building youth’s resilience to overcome economic and social vulnerability. The findings also highlighted the importance of multi-pronged interventions that target economic and non-economic outcomes of vulnerable youth populations as a conduit to their holistic resilience. While financial support directly cushions youth against financial vulnerability, offering capacity-building training to youth fosters their employability, decision-making, security, and freedom. Furthermore, the finding of the trickling effect of the interventions beyond beneficiary youth should inform social and economic policies in developing economies. Despite the limitation of the study being situated in two urban communities whose conditions may not reflect those of other communities in Ghana and beyond, it provides detailed information about resilience building among vulnerable youth.