Street youth are at high sexual and IDU risk for HIV transmission. Furthermore, specific sub-cultural groups have different risk factors. The rates of participation in the intervention are so low that the effectiveness of the intervention itself could not be measured under this design. Longitudinal studies of street youth in San Francisco should only be attempted with careful provisions for follow-up of the sample. Understanding of these differences is crucial to effective prevention practice among street youth.
Social norms governing risk-behaviors within different tribal groups also vary.
The effectiveness of outreach and prevention programs could be increased if they respond to these differences. Interventions for street youth need to be appropriate for people with disorganized and chaotic lives. Larkin Street Services has already used the findings to modify the Project Light intervention protocol to make accessing this service easier for street youth.