1. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Youth Pathways out of Homelessness
Marianne Quirouette
For Dr. Sean Kidd, Dr Jeff Karabanow & Dr Jean Hughes
& the Exiting Street Life Study Group

2. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Presentation Plan
 Context
 Research Question
 Methods
 Three Phase Model
 i) Initial Turning Point
 ii) Basic Stability -housing
-supports
 iii) What’s Next? -identity and purpose
-legal issues
 Conclusion

3. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Context
 Youth become homeless because of family dysfunction, abuse,
trauma, poverty, addiction, mental and physical illness, and
service sector inadequacies (Hagan & McCarthy1997;
Karabanow 2004; 2006; 2008; Kidd, 2004; 2006; MacLean et al.,
1999; Molnar et al., 1998).
 Research is finally turning to how youth navigate pathways
out of homelessness to find and maintain housing and stability
(Mayock, Sullivan and Corr 2011; Karabanow 2008)

4. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Research Question
What are the lived experiences of homeless youth as
they negotiate the individual, socio-cultural, and
economic tensions of transitioning out of homeless and
away from street contexts and cultures?

5. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Methods
 Sample includes 51 ‘previously homeless youth’, , mean age is 21
 21 participants from a smaller city (Halifax) and 30 from the largest
city in Canada (Toronto)
 Longitudinal study design: 4 interviews and questionnaires each
 Purposeful snowball sampling, recruiting through youth organization

6. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Broad 3 phase model
1. INITIAL TURNING POINT
2. BASIC STABILITY
3. ‘WHAT'S NEXT‘?
LASTING
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
INCLUSION
MATURITY, IDENTITY, SELF
CARE, EMPLOYMENT,
EDUCATION, LEGAL

7. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Initial turning points
 Getting ‘sick of it’
Ex: Too much drama, tired
 Renewed support from family or partner
Ex: New lover, re-connecting with family
 Traumatic event
Ex: Death of street friend, OD, victimization
 Child care responsibilities
Ex: Discovering pregnancy, regaining custody

8. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Basic Stability - Housing

9. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Basic Stability - Supports
Material and emotional supports are key to most successful transitions
and come from:
1) FAMILY,
2) FRIENDS, LOVERS, &
3) SERVICE PROVIDERS

10. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
What’s Next?… - identity and purpose

11. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
What’s Next?… - Legal Issues
 Criminalized status and banishment - tickets and fines
 Harm reduction spaces?
 Support for youth with active court cases
 Custody as disruption to housing stability
 Criminal record checks and housing screening

12. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Conclusions (for now)
 One year is not enough to capture this process
 Supports needed for people with less mainstream orientations
 Housing essential to stability but is insufficient on its own