Not surprisingly, the survey showed a high incidence of drug and alcohol problems among the street youth; almost 90 percent reported an alcohol or drug problem. Youths were equally concerned about their level of use of both alcohol and drugs and their desire to use less. Like general populations, alcohol abuse more often had familial associations than did drug abuse. Although the youths stated that both alcohol and drug problems increased after being on the street, more reported increased drug use, probably because of the high availability. The findings raise issues regarding the need for treatment and other interventions which are currently not widely available or are inappropriate. Drug and alcohol use by street youth is partly a response to life in a hazardous and dysfunctional environment, while mainstream youth use drugs for social and recreational reasons. 8 tables and 22 references