This article outlines findings from research on current and former street children in Burundi, that assesses the extent to which violence can affect children’s mental well-being and psychological functioning, and thus limit their reintegration. The study shows that residential centres can have beneficial effects for children who have lived in the streets, such as protecting them to a certain degree from constantly experiencing violence. However, all together the results strongly suggest that it is equally important to adhere to the psychological needs of vulnerable children as it is to satisfy other basic lacking needs in order to help them successfully reintegrate into society.
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