This is an English translation of a conversation we had with a resident of the Children of Hope Shelter,

Ugur. We spoke about his childhood, his experience with substance use, and how he came to reside at the
Children of Hope Shelter, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Alp/Esin: Hi it’s nice to meet you I’m Esin and this is my brother Alp
Ugur: Ugur, nice to meet you guys.
Alp/Esin: So before we start asking you questions I just wanted to give you some context.
Basically, we are conducting research on certain aspects: my topics are more centered around
substance abuse and mental health and Alp’s focus is people's backgrounds and family lives- like
anthropology. We are both in high school and we live in America.
Ugur: Okay, I got it.
Alp/Esin: So in general how was your childhood?
Ugur: Well, when I was younger I ran away from home a lot until one day I just decided to leave
and come to Istanbul.
Alp/Esin: How old were you when you started running away?
Ugur: I believe I was about 8 and then I left home and came here at 11 years old.
Alp/Esin: Where are you from?
Ugur: Edirne
Alp/Esin: Oh, Edirne okay. How was your home life?
Ugur: It wasn’t great. My parents would treat me poorly and hit me sometimes when I would do
something they didn’t approve of.
Alp/Esin: I’m sorry. Did you have any siblings?
Ugur: I had one younger sibling.
Alp/Esin: How was your economic situation growing up?
Ugur: When I was young it was pretty difficult. My parents were newly married. Sometimes
because of that stressful situation or my dad's work, he would take it out on me. When I was
young I would go out to play ball with my friends and some days I would come home after dark
and my dad would beat me. After this started happening I started spending more and more time
away from home. Eventually, me and a friend of mine decided to come to Istanbul. We ended up
on the streets and ended up using certain substances.
Alp/Esin: What kinds of substances?
Ugur: Paint thinner and bali. The strongest substances I ended up using were various kinds of
pills that people would sell on the streets.
Alp/Esin: So you lived on the streets with your friend.
Ugur: Exactly. I mostly did day jobs to earn some money and then we would sleep in parks at
night. Wherever we could.
Alp/Esin: Did you ever go to any shelters?
Ugur: Yes, of course. Sometimes the police would find us on the streets and take us to certain
government-run shelters, but I never was comfortable there.
Alp/Esin: If you don’t mind me asking, at what age did you start using substances?
Ugur: I believe I was about 12.
Alp/Esin: Do you have any future plans?
Ugur: Yes, I am looking for jobs at the moment.
Alp/Esin: What was your education like?
Ugur: I was able to finish high school under the government system.
Alp/Esin: Do you still speak with your family
Ugur: Yeah we still talk when we can. I visited home last year.
Alp/Esin: So you continued to have a relationship with your family after you left?
Ugur: Not initially. It was only after I turned 18 that I reconnected with them
Alp/Esin: Do they show any kind of remorse for their past actions?
Ugur: Of course. They support me with anything now
Alp/Esin: That’s good to hear. Thank you so much for talking with us
Ugur: Yeah, anytime
[13:33]