Pathways to Homelessness and Stable Housing Among Youth in Nova Scotia Involved with Child Welfare Services: Case Studies

Purpose: This paper explores the experiences of youth in Nova Scotia, Canada, involved with child welfare and community services and the factors associated with stable or unstable housing during service involvement and after discharge. Method: This paper analyzes four case studies of two non-binary, one female, and one male youth selected for the diversity of their risk and resilience profiles from a longitudinal mixed-methods study of youth involved with child welfare and community services. Results: Findings show that intersecting risk factors, including childhood exposure to violence, multiple placements in the child welfare system, and failure in child welfare support and transition contributed to youths’ internalizing and externalizing problems and eventual experiences of precarious housing and homelessness. Resilience factors arising from support systems have been found to help youth transition to more stable housing. Conclusion: These purposefully selected case studies highlight both the risk and resilience factors associated with homelessness and stable housing for youth involved with child welfare services. Recommendations are provided to help prevent unstable housing outcomes for this population.