I remember life between the ages of 18 and 21 years old as pretty care-free.

I was still in school with my parents generously footing the bill. At the same time, I was acutely aware of the impending responsibility that lay ahead -- figuring out a career, supporting myself, learning to live really on my own.

Those young adult years are a huge transition.

Even kids with every advantage sometimes end up back in mom and dad's house looking for support -- financial and otherwise -- while they figure things out. So think about what it is like for kids with no advantages.

A survey by the Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services reported that more than 3,800 young people are homeless on any given night in New York City. They may be on the streets, in abandoned buildings or sleeping in cars.

Wherever they are, without a home and a support system, they're certainly vulnerable, and though they may technically be adults, in many ways, they are still just kids.

For more information, click on the following links:

NYC Dept. Of Youth And Community Development -- Runaway & Homeless Youth

Covenant House New York