Carl DeLine

Why This Book, at This Time?

the back door

the back door: an experiment or an alternative, by Carl DeLine (2001)
1) Foreword
2) Why This Book, at This Time?
3) What We Do Today
4) History: How the back door Came About
5) Belief Systems
6) Philosophical Nuances
7) Variables – The Experiment Began: “An Introduction to a Life of Variables”
8) What Others Have Said
9) In Conclusion

Because:

  1. People from other cities are asking what it would take to have a back door in their city or community.
  2. Evaluators have said that the back door has not only enabled many young people to change their lives, but the program itself may well serve as a model for other kinds of social transitions.*
  3. Evaluators have also said that, “the back door program has several unusual features which distinguish it from other programs with similar aims. For example, the back door program places an unusual level of responsibility on the individual participant. This high level of individual responsibility extends to the selection of goals, pacing of the program, and the means selected by participants to resolve for themselves the step-by-step transition away from the streets.” It is the frustration of many street people that so many programs which have been developed to help them have now only resulted in a revolving door which often leads back to the street. This frustration will continue until both the street and the non-street recognize the need to bridge the cultural gaps. the back door bridges those gaps.
  4. In the midst of all that is said and written about street people, many non-street people still believe the myth that young people choose the street for some glamorous or adventurous reason. In reality, the vast majority of young people who have come to the back door refute this idea as they publicly back up their intentions with their efforts to get off and stay off the street.

*additional thoughts on Pacific Rim Research Team