Finding Our Way Home: A Collaborative Photovoice Research Project with Young People Who Have 'aged out' of Care and Experienced Homelessness in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Background and Purpose: Studies have shown that youth experiencing homelessness in Canada are nearly 200 times more likely to have been involved in the child welfare system compared to youth in the general population. Few studies have examined the experiences of homelessness of young people after exiting care to identify the factors that put them at risk of homelessness and those that enhance their resilience. This study aimed to examine the pathways and processes of systemic exclusion that put young people with histories of child welfare system involvement more at risk of homelessness than other young people.

Methods: A Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and arts-based Photovoice (PV) method was utilized to engage eight youth residing in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) between the ages of 18 and 25, with both child welfare system and homelessness experience. The goal was to learn, over 14 weekly sessions, about youth’s experiences in the child welfare system, their transition to adulthood, their experiences with homelessness, and what factors contributed to struggles and/or their resilience. Project session transcripts and photographs were thematically analyzed to identify common and individual themes emerging from the experiences of the youth co-researchers.

Results: Themes emerged under three categories: (1) supportive factors that contributed to their resilience; (2) systemic or interpersonal challenges that contributed to negative experiences; and (3) recommendations for policy change. Of note, six of the eight participants were employed while experiencing homelessness, as they could not find affordable housing. Half of the participants discussed unsuitable foster care placements as contributors to homelessness. All participants disclosed that their social workers changed frequently, and were not supportive throughout their experience in care and/or during their transition to adulthood. Supports contributing to resilience included individuals in youth’s lives described as “champions”, which ranged in roles such as an employee of a non-profit or a member of the public who took an interest in the youth’s life and advocated on their behalf. All youth co-researchers recommended extending the transition to adulthood to ensure adequate planning, life skills development and supports.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings from this study provide a nuanced and youth-centred explanation of both the risk and protective factors that influence young people’s trajectories from the child welfare system to (and out of) homelessness. Implications for child welfare policy and practice include a focus on informal and natural social support networks, more consistent, meaningful check-ins by social workers, extending the transition phase past the age of majority, and ensuring equitable access to funds and supports for youth in care as they transition to adulthood. Future research on youth in care and homelessness should focus on the impacts of early parenthood as well as the realities of rural youth compared to urban youth.