Off The Streets

Tuesday, November 17 2009 | Send to a friend

OFF THE STREETS

Experts estimate that 300,000 children and teens are lured into prostitution each year.

At 15 years old, Delencia began working as a prostitute in Texas. She says over the past three years it was her only opportunity to earn the money she wanted for clothes, hair and nail treatments. Last month, after a brush with law enforcement, Delencia decided to quit selling her body. She talks with Dick Gordon about how she's adjusting to life off the streets and the challenges she faces ahead.

• Learn about resources for child victims of prostitution
  

Discovering Leslie Cheung

Marie Jost

A couple of years ago, Marie Jost rented the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Chinese cinema was new to her, and Marie was floored by what she saw. She started checking out other Chinese films. It was while watching Farewell My Concubine, an Academy Award nominee in 1993 for best foreign film, that Marie really got hooked on Leslie Cheung, the lead actor. Marie's fanaticism about Leslie, who killed himself in 2003, has led her to explore Chinese art, culture and language. She says it's also renewed her own creativity, even inspiring her to plan a trip to Hong Kong next spring.