This qualitative study documents incidents of discrimination and violence among LGBTQ + youth experiencing homelessness along with their adaptation strategies. Using intersectionality theory, this analysis is based on individual interviews conducted with 17 LGBTQ + youth experiencing homelessness aged 17 to 25. According to their stories, LGBTQ +…

From 2017 to 2021, the Youth Action Research Revolution (YARR) team documented the institutional histories of young people experiencing homelessness in Canada. Interviews with youth focused on educational, child welfare, health care, and criminal justice institutions. Situated at the intersections of critical adult education (CAE), participatory…

Indigenous youth are disproportionately impacted by homelessness in Canada. Little is known about Indigenous youths' lived experiences of homelessness and the dominant methodological orientation in related research uses quantitative research methods. There have been calls for increased engagement in qualitative and arts-based research methods. In…

Dance as an artform touches the biopsychosocial dimensions of people and as such is increasingly used as a vehicle to improve the quality of life of diverse populations in the community. Yet little is known about how dance classes are experienced by marginalized populations. The purpose of this action research was to explore the potential of dance…

High level of mental health problems are a critical concern among youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Using data from a randomized controlled trial on Housing First in Canada, this study examined the risk factors and protective resources associated with mental health recovery among 215 homeless youth with mental illness at baseline and…

We present a dialogue between two community-based scholars in Tio'tia:ke/Montréal, who are examining the experiences of low-income Black families and youth, and gender-diverse, homeless youth. We argue that success must be understood differently in light of the systemic discrimination many youth navigate in schools and explore how research may…

Positive developmental outcomes among youth living in poverty have rarely been studied. Despite numerous risk factors, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to positive developmental outcomes among youth in poverty. Using the Self-Determination Theory framework, this two-wave longitudinal study investigated the contribution of…

The purpose of the current study was to explore whether selfcompassion predicted psychological distress over and above childhood maltreatment and attachment orientation in high-risk youths. Fifty-one youths (31 males, 20 females) aged 17 to 24, recruited from a community non-profit organization in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada,…

In 2016, 235,000 Canadians experienced homelessness, and on any given night, there are 35,000 Canadians who are homeless. Many have significant mental-health needs. This article describes a series of storytelling workshops offered at a shelter and medical clinic to provide a space for homeless people to reflect, share their voices, gain…

This short communication provides our insights into how or in what ways educators can more effectively support aspiration of at-risk/high-risk youth toward meaningful education. These are informed by the key learnings from our ongoing youth engagement research. Those insights emphasize the importance of "meaningful engagement of youth"…

"Youth" remains a symbolic source of investment in society at large: both perceived as a social problem in need of remediation, and seen as a potential source of social change, leading generational renewal. Contemporary youth culture literature is often still bifurcated between analyses of the ways that young people are disempowered by…

There is currently a paucity of literature in the field of evaluation regarding the practice of reflection and reflexivity and a lack of available tools to guide this practice--yet using a reflexive model can enhance evaluation practice. This paper focuses on the methods and results of a reflexive inquiry that was conducted during a participatory…

For the March 2020 survey, AACRAO partnered with The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University on the March 2020 survey which recently released the results of the 5th annual #RealCollege survey of students' experiences with food and housing insecurity; it demonstrates widespread food and housing insecurity at more than…

Collaborating with "Project: Humanity," an acclaimed socially engaged theatre company, we mobilized, over 16 weeks, an applied theatre methodology of drama workshops and traditional qualitative research methods to explore issues of spatialized inequality and localized poverty with a youth shelter community in Toronto, Canada.…

Social work's traditional emphasis on the individual in the context of social environments has resulted in a neglect of the person in the context of physical environments. This conceptual article addresses this oversight by presenting three subconcepts of place--place attachment, place identity, and territoriality--and draws on research examples…