Focus group discussions with the youth living and working in the streets of Manila as well as interviews with key informants involved in intervention programs for these youth reveal several ways by which the youth may be protected from engaging in problem behaviors in and out of the streets. Findings reveal that conditions which promote the feeling of safety and of nurturance within familial relationships provide the children with a sense of protection and stability. The children are also protected when the community provides the child with opportunities to be productive and positively contribute to community life. The efficacy gained from their participation in productive communal life provides the street children with a sense of hope which allows them with an agency to chart their movement out of the streets