Decades after the Romanian Revolution, a new generation of homeless, drug-addicted youth have taken to the streets and found shelter underground. Of about 6000 homeless people living in Bucharest, around 1000 are children. Many find warmth and shelter in Bucharest's system of underground heating canals. Romania's vast orphanage system was instituted during the time of Communist-era dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who outlawed abortion. During the early days of the post-Communist period, conditions at the orphanages reached an all-time low. Many children ran away when they were old enough to manage on their own. There they live short, tragic lives, sometimes bearing children, many of whom are taken into state custody like their parents before them.