Our presentation reports on data from a project focused on the trajectories of young people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity in 4 Canadian cities (n=80). Following participants for up to two and a half years, we combined quantitative survey and qualitative interviews to better understand how young people experience and navigate transitions towards stability. Here, we focus on conflict with law (criminal, immigration, family, housing) as well as conflict with other authorities, and consider how these experiences intersect with housing-related trajectories. We report on issues and experiences youth related to us about police, courts, and corrections – but also to child/youth protection and case managers or security guards at school or in shelters. Our analysis shows how these experiences can be impactful - and harmful – shaping both self-concept, and chances at accessing success and stability. Our findings highlight the importance of opposing punitive and exclusionary practices, and identifies some promising practices that can support youth.

Spallanzani-Sarrasin, N.

Presented in 2024 by Nicolas Spallanzani-Sarrasin at the American Society of Criminology Meeting at San Francisco.

Criminalization, Control and Young People's Transition Away from Homelessness

Research conducted by our group (2011-2014) has shown that the process of getting out of homelessness can be long and arduous, while many young people face obstacles related to lack of access to housing or the impact of their legal situation. Although some also achieve durable stability, our research was limited to short periods in this process, limiting understanding of longer-term outcomes and justifying a second study. In this context, our goal is to better understand the longitudinal trajectories of young people with a history of homelessness, to design policies and interventions that promote successful exits from homelessness. Based on interviews with young people (16-28 years old) conducted in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax, we explore the factors that influence their trajectory, their stability and their well-being, including the type of support in the short, medium and long term. We are interested in the institutional factors that influence the risk of instability and homelessness. Finally, we seek to understand how these young people build their community model and how their transition to homelessness varies according to intersectional characteristics related to gender, sexual orientation, socio-cultural origin, immigration status or disabilities. The recruitment and data collection phase for this project is still ongoing.
