Crashing Into Adulthood: Janea - latimes.com

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Bundled in a grass-stained Army blanket against the cold night air, it's not easy for Janea Barton to be homeless. "I didn't know what it was like to live on my own. They don't realize most kids are institutionalized. I was institutionalized. When you live in a group home and you have people take care of you for so long, it's hard," Janea says. "I knew I had to leave when I truned 18, but I was in denial."

Homeless

( GAIL FISHER / Los Angeles Times )

Bundled in a grass-stained Army blanket against the cold night air, it's not easy for Janea Barton to be homeless. "I didn't know what it was like to live on my own. They don't realize most kids are institutionalized. I was institutionalized. When you live in a group home and you have people take care of you for so long, it's hard," Janea says. "I knew I had to leave when I truned 18, but I was in denial."

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