Live, Learn, Grow: Supporting Transitions to Adulthood for Homeless Youth – A Framework for the Foyer in Canada

In Canada, there is a growing interest in developing more effective responses to youth homelessness. This is expressed by the desire to shift our efforts from providing homeless youth with bare bone emergency services to a broader and more strategic emphasis on prevention, and models of accommodation that lead to a life of independence and fulfilment. In striving for these outcomes, communities across the country are looking to build on “what works” and adapt effective models to local contexts. Finding suitable models of housing and accommodation supported by effective policy and funding frameworks is central to these efforts.

This report reflects on the possibilities of adapting, and in fact improving on, the Foyer model for the Canadian context. The report has three main sections. First, there is an overview of the challenges homeless youth face in securing and maintaining housing, to be followed by an analysis of the role that transitional housing can play in supporting young people as they move forward with their lives. In the second section, the Foyer model is introduced. The underlying philosophy of the Foyer is explored, key components are explained, and the research on program effectiveness is examined. The final section of the report is designed to support communities in the practical adaptation of the Foyer model. A framework that identifies the indispensable features of the Foyer model is presented which clearly lays out how this model can be adapted and implemented in the Canadian context. The proposed framework does not simply replicate what has been developed elsewhere, but rather seeks to incorporate recent developments in housing responses for young people who have experienced homelessness and embed it in the Canadian context.