A new study of young people who live on Winnipeg's streets suggests many suffered abuse at a young age and are struggling to deal with mental illnesses and drug abuse.

The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba paid 160 homeless youth — people between the ages of 14 and 25 with no permanent address — $25 each to answer questions about their past family life, alcohol and drug intake, education, mental health, physical health, employment and other aspects of their lives.

The results suggest half were physically abused at the age of eight or younger. A quarter of the female respondents said they had been sexually abused before their ninth birthday.

Half of the respondents were classified as being at high risk of suicide and two-thirds reported symptoms of lifetime psychiatric disorders.

The respondents said they commonly used drugs such as marijuana and crystal meth, many saying it was a means of escape.

The study suggests criminal activity, such as theft, assault and vandalism, is common among street youth, but most respondents also reported holding some type of job in the previous year.

"The most significant is the breadth of issues.  It wasn't just one thing — it wasn't just a little mental health problems, or some drug use problems — it was kind of lots of everything," said Dave Patton, one of the study's authors.

"Are they using drugs to help deal with some of the pain of what's happened to them at home before they left?" he asked. "Are the mental-health issues exacerbated by it? Their overall situation looks bleak, which is probably why so many of them have thought of suicide and are at high risk of suicides."

Addict turns life around

Dawn Coffin who left home six years ago, when she was 15, filled out a questionnaire for the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba last year at this time.

"I guess I was a crystal meth addict," she told CBC News.  "I didn't know I was an addict until after I did this test, because they asked you about how much meth you took and how much you thought about it and how much you used it and stuff."

"It wasn't until after we were done doing this test or whatever that I realized that, man, it went from a weekend thing to a daily thing to doing a half a point to being half grams and … it was the first time I ever realized addiction in myself."

Coffin is now drug-free, happily married and pregnant.

New outreach positions funded

The addictions foundation estimates approximately 600 young people live on Winnipeg's streets.

Kelly Holmes, who works with street youth through Resource Assistance for Youth Inc., hopes people will think twice about the kids they see on the street after hearing the study's results.

"Many people have a tendency just to stereotype many of these kids as lazy, unemployed bums or rebel youth that are not listening to their parents," she said.

Patton said homeless youth need support, including counselling, shelter and education.  However, few of them trust authority figures and they rarely ask for help, he said.

Manitoba Health has already responded to the new data by creating funding for two new jobs for outreach workers. The positions have yet to be filled.