"When I think about my future, I just see darkness": How youth exiting homelessness navigate the hazy, liminal space between socioeconomic exclusion and inclusion.

OBJECTIVES: The overarching objective of this mixed methods longitudinal study was to understand whether and how rent subsidies and mentorship influenced socioeconomic inclusion outcomes for youth exiting homelessness. The focus of this paper is on the qualitative objectives, which evolved from a primary focus on exploring how study mentorship was working as a facilitator of socioeconomic inclusion to focusing on how participants navigated the hazy, liminal space between socioeconomic exclusion and inclusion. METHODS: This was a convergent mixed methods study scaffolded by community-based participatory action axiology. The quantitative component is reported elsewhere and involved a 2-year pilot randomized controlled trial where 24 participants received rent subsidies and 13 were randomly assigned a study mentor; proxy indicators of socioeconomic inclusion were measured every 6 months for 2.5 years. Qualitative objectives were explored using a qualitative descriptive design and theoretically framed using critical social theory. The lead author interviewed 12 participants every 6 months for 2.5 years. Qualitative interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis with an emphasis on critical interpretation. RESULTS: Navigating the liminal space between socioeconomic exclusion and inclusion was complex and non-linear, and the way youth navigated that journey was more strongly associated with factors like informal mentorship (naturally occurring "coach-like" mentorship) and identity capital (sense of purpose, control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem), rather than whether or not they were assigned a formal study mentor. CONCLUSION: A holistic approach integrating coaching and attention to identity capital alongside economic supports may be key to helping youth exiting homelessness achieve socioeconomic inclusion.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: L'objectif primordial de cette étude longitudinale à méthodes mixtes était de comprendre si et comment les suppléments au loyer et le mentorat influencent les résultats sur le plan de l'inclusion socioéconomique pour les jeunes qui sortent du sans-abrisme. Notre article porte sur des objectifs qualitatifs; à l'origine, il visait principalement à explorer l'efficacité du mentorat des études comme moyen de faciliter l'inclusion socioéconomique, puis il a évolué en s'attachant à la manière dont les participantes et les participants trouvaient leurs repères dans l'espace liminaire flou entre l'exclusion et l'inclusion socioéconomique. MéTHODE: Cette étude à méthodes mixtes convergentes est échafaudée sur l'axiologie de l'action participative communautaire. L'élément quantitatif, qui fait l'objet d'un autre article, a impliqué un essai pilote comparatif randomisé de deux ans où 24 participantes et participants ont reçu des suppléments au loyer, et 13 ont été jumelés de façon aléatoire à un tuteur ou une tutrice scolaire; des indicateurs approximatifs de l'inclusion socioéconomique ont été mesurés tous les six mois pendant deux ans et demi. Les objectifs qualitatifs ont été explorés à l'aide d'un protocole descriptif qualitatif et encadrés théoriquement par la théorie sociale critique. L'autrice principale a interviewé 12 participantes et participants tous les six mois pendant deux ans et demi. Les entretiens qualitatifs ont été analysés en employant l'analyse thématique réflexive et en mettant l'accent sur l'interprétation critique. RéSULTATS: L'exploration de l'espace liminaire entre l'exclusion et l'inclusion socioéconomique était complexe et non linéaire, et le parcours des jeunes était davantage associé à des facteurs comme le mentorat informel (le mentorat naturel semblable à celui d'un entraîneur ou d'une entraîneuse) et le capital identitaire (le sentiment d'avoir un but, le contrôle, l'auto-efficacité et l'estime de soi) qu'au fait d'avoir ou non été jumelés à un tuteur ou une tutrice dans leurs études. CONCLUSION: Une démarche holistique intégrant l'encadrement et l'attention au capital identitaire, en plus des mesures de soutien économique, pourrait être essentielle pour aider les jeunes qui sortent du sans-abrisme à s'intégrer sur le plan socioéconomique.

Tackling exclusion: A pilot mixed method quasi-experimental identity capital intervention for young people exiting homelessness.

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal studies examining the life trajectories of young people after they have exited homelessness have identified concerns with persistent social and economic exclusion, struggles to shake off identities of homelessness, and housing instability. This pilot study sought to explore the feasibility of improving socioeconomic inclusion outcomes by bolstering identity capital (sense of purpose and control, self-efficacy and self-esteem) among young people who had experienced homelessness. METHODS: Nineteen individuals (aged 18-26) who had transitioned out of homelessness within the past three years participated in a six-week, six-session program focused on building identity capital. The study employed a mixed method prospective cohort hybrid design with an intervention group (Group One) and a delayed intervention comparison group (Group Two). Participants were interviewed every three months until nine months post-intervention. RESULTS: None of the youth who began the intervention dropped out of the program, with the exception of one participant who moved across the country and was unable to continue. Immediately after participating in the intervention, Group One had statistically significant improvements (p < .05) and large to very large effect sizes in self-esteem (d = 1.16) and physical community integration (d = 1.79) compared to changes in Group Two over the same period, which had not yet begun the intervention. In the pooled analysis, small to moderate effect sizes in hopelessness, physical community integration, and self-esteem were observed at all post-intervention time points. Notably, at six- and nine-months post-intervention, statistically significant improvements (p < .05) and moderate effect sizes in hopelessness (d = -0.73 and d = -0.60 respectively) and self-esteem (d = 0.71 and d = 0.53 respectively) were observed. Youth shared they appreciated the normalizing (vs. pathologizing) of strategies they needed to learn and spoke of the importance of framing new skills as something one needs "to have a better life" vs. "to get better." CONCLUSIONS: These early findings signal that targeting identity capital is feasible and may be a promising approach to incorporate into a more complex intervention that includes housing, education, and employment supports to help youth transition out of homelessness. Future research could build on these findings through a sufficiently powered randomized controlled trial.