Transitions into Housing Project

Welcome to the landing page for the Transitions into Housing Project (TIHP)!

We are grateful to Making the Shift Inc and Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for funding support.

The focus of the project is on better understanding the long-term transitions into housing for young people with a history of homelessness in Canada. The project is unique because it engages with young people in 4 cities and has a follow-up period of 6 years, making it one of the longest studies of its kind in the world. Participants were recruited from four major cities in Canada: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax. Recruitment began in August 2022 and ended March 2024. Interviewing and follow-up is scheduled to continue in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal until July 2028 (follow-up in Halifax ended July 2025).

The research design utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining in-depth, narrative interviewing and a quantitative survey employing brief measures of wellbeing.

Recruitment was done through service providers that provide support to homeless or marginally housed young people, and via snowball sampling. The eligibility criteria for the study is:

• New to housing or actively searching for housing: Participants had to have been housed for less than 2 years, but effort was made to recruit people whose time since they last experienced homelessness was less than 12 months. Participants were also eligible if they were actively searching for housing as indicated by being on waitlists for supportive or subsidized housing, working with housing workers, or applying for housing rentals.
• Have experienced homelessness for at least 6 months in their past (not including time spent homeless as a child with their family or caregivers).
• Be between 16 and 29 years of age.

Contact us

For more information on the study please contact tyler.frederick@ontariotechu.ca.