Street, the hustle ground.

The street is a battle ground filled with talents, aspirations and challenges, the life out there is no play and only the strong rules, "there's only one option you survive".

The Good ( yes there are good sides to the coin)

While “street life” is mostly linked to struggle, there are aspects that reflect human resilience and community:

1. Tight-Knit Bonds

On the streets, people often form their own communities. Loyalty, protection, and shared experience can create deep, family-like relationships. In the street everyone is involve with the upbringing.

2. Hustle Mentality

People who live street life develop a unique kind of street smarts — a hustle mentality. They learn to navigate tough situations, think fast, and survive with very limited resources. The struggle everyday builds the spirit which never dies no matter what ;

The ijaw people in the southern part of Nigeria calls it "Asawana"

3. Creativity and Grit

From selling handmade goods to performing or hustling legal side gigs, many turn to their talents to make a living. Art, music, dance, and even fashion can all emerge from street culture. Especially when it comes to street festival that's where celebrities are born, is it the football competition, music, dance and the art of public speaking.

The Bad

1. Lack of Safety and Stability

Life on the street often means no fixed home, no guaranteed food, and no protection from violence. It’s a constant battle for basic needs. The environment is ashe, the weather is no one's buddy but the hope is tomorrow will be better.

2. Exposure to Crime and Violence

Whether it's gang activity, theft, or police harassment, danger is often close. Some turn to crime to survive, while others become victims of it. The street house the cruelties of crime leadings to trafficking of human or parts

i.e from the writer's view real time event

A young girl was traffic and taken to cameroon for sex slave and after four years she was located but the trauma the girl went through left her norm even after rehabilitation the recovery wasn't much, she has to own up to her scars.

3. Limited Access to Education and Healthcare

For those living on the streets, going to school or getting medical help isn’t easy and sometimes not possible. This limits future opportunities and worsens health over time.

4. Mental and Emotional Strain

Constant stress, fear, and hopelessness can lead to mental health issues like depression, anxiety and substance abuse as their way out of reality.

The Ugly

1. Drug Abuse and Addiction

Street life often intersects with drug culture. Some turn to substances as a coping mechanism; others fall into addiction through peer pressure or survival tactics.

2. Exploitation and Abuse

Children, women, and vulnerable individuals living on the streets are often exploited — through forced labor, human trafficking, or abuse by those in power.

3. Society’s Judgment and Neglect

People living street life are often ignored or blamed for their situation. There’s stigma, not support. That lack of compassion adds to their struggle and sometimes they're used to create chaos in the society.

4. Cycle of Poverty

Escaping street life is hard. Without education, a stable job, or a support system, many get trapped in a cycle they can’t easily break, it's goes from generations and only a few end the circle.

Why It Matters

Street life is not just a “them” problem, it reflects wider social and economic failures: poverty, lack of access to education, jobs,mental health care, systemic inequality, and broken support systems which the leaders are aware of but decide to keep quiet and full the pocket instead.

What Can Be Done?

Support outreach programs — food, shelter, counseling, rehab, good amenities, good healthy facilities to the public for free and sustainable systematic approaches.

Push for policy changes — affordable housing, mental health services, youth programs.

Treat people with dignity — never underestimate what a kind word, some food, or just listening can do

Street life is not just a story of hardship — it's also a story of survival. Behind every person on the street is a life, a past, and a hope for a better future. The streets may harden people, but they also reveal a strength most of us never have to discover.