Drag Rats News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

And they have to drink. like they will get sick if they don't drink. i mean, really sick. or they will have seizures. >> i know. dts. >> yeah. i hate [ bleep ]. >> reporter: it is a problem so severe that sunday mornings can look like this. dave, sleezy, katy and some of the other drag rats wait in the square literally counting the minutes before they can buy alcohol. >> this is slum day. they don't sell booze until noon. we are all sitting here like a bunch of retards until noon. miserable! >> how many more minutes? >> 13. >> pretty much counting the seconds. >> i'm not doing too bad but i'm ...

Paying rent and my name is on the bills. that's when i will feel secure. can't nobody do me like i can do me. can't nobody take care of me like i can take care of me. >> reporter: they are staying with their friend, terry. chocolate's already shaky confidence and it takes a hit. >> he made a comment that made me really, really edgy. he's like, well, wouldn't you rather pick something battery operated as opposed to something plug-in just in case you go back to that situation? you are already insinuating i might go back to that situation. suddenly you have to go and be ready to go. i keep my stu...

Have a fairy tale -- can you spare any change today, by any chance? okay. no acknowledgement. no change or acknowledgment. my name is nikki. i'm 21. and i have been running away from home since i was 14. >> reporter: nikki like most austin street kids makes her home on the drag across from the university of texas campus. >> we drink, panhandle and get harassed by the cops and college students every day. i don't know why we waste our time. we do. >> reporter: on the drag, the street kids, known as drag rats,

Can blend in with the college students and hit them up for money. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: in the heart of the drag is renaissance market scare, home of the university co-op, street vendors and meeting ground for the drag rats. >> i have been in austin on and off for three years. as soon as i turned 18, i came to austin. kind of rebellious, i wanted to do whatever i wanted to do. i would just run away. it wasn't like my home life was horrible or terrible. no one was beating me or anything. >> while nikki is still in contact with her blood family, she said she's much closer to her str...

>> we try to hang out as much as we can but we are always on different missions. we have different agendas and different sets of friends. cops are right around the corner. >> reporter: with the police around, nikki and gage leave the square. the police are a constant problem for nikki and the drag rats that are ticketed for loitering, public intoxication, and possession of drugs. >> they will give you tickets for anything out here. they target you. there are worse things going on in austin than a couple of kids, sleeping behind a dumpster. >> how much have you had to drink today? >> nothing. >...