In the 1850s there were 150,000 abandoned, abused, and orphaned children in the streets of New York. Ten thousand children roamed the streets to search for food, money, and shelter. Boys that were not more than 12 years old would be drinking coffee, smoking, and talk about gambling when they were on their break at work. They would also join violent gangs. The older girls would prostitute themselves to get money. Police officers arrested vagrant children as young as 5, locking them up with adults. In 1853, while roaming the streets, Charles Loring Brace was horrified about the condition on the streets and having children living there. Brace and a group of social reformers created the Children’s Aid Society to relocate children to homes all over
