At turning 18, young immigrants in ward are forced to abandon public shelters.

Those new adults, without any family support, become homeless with no resources.  

Behind the definition of Non-Accompanied Foreign Minors there are thousands of kids of flesh and bones, mostly Maghrebi or sub-Saharans, who risk their lives to reach Spain by boat or hidden under the floor of a truck.

The live in shelters until they reach adulthood, but that day, when they turn 18, the protection system says goodbye and in many cases they are expelled without even having a place to sleep.  In the streets, without any family support, they become members of the homeless community.

The situation is even tougher when they abandon those centers without a residency permit.  From that moment they are in the country in an irregular state, and from day to night, they are candidates to receive a deportation order.

Nothing is easy for them.  In many cases, their temporary permit does not allow them to find a job, so many kids, lost in their labyrinth choose the wrong way, drugs and delinquency.

The protection system of minors in different regions in Spain have support programs for those ex-in ward adolescents, but there are more candidates than resources.