The Identity Project

Understanding how to create successful pathways out of homelessness is crucial. Thirty young people (aged 18 - 26 years) who have transitioned out of homelessness within the past three years will be offered scholarships to participate in a six week intervention that focuses on building identity capital (sense of purpose and control, self-efficacy and self-esteem) and providing career direction. The intervention will be designed and carried out by dk Leadership - an established, highly successful leadership and counseling centre in Toronto with a track record of significantly improving the life trajectories of teens and adults. Importantly, study participants will be incorporated into the centre's current programming, meaning the intervention will be held at a location not associated with homelessness. Study participants will be collaboratively recruited by dk Leadership and Covenant House Toronto - Canada's largest agency for street-involved and homeless youth. This impact and process evaluation aims to address critical gaps in knowledge about transition-related supports by asking whether and how an identity capital intervention delivered outside the social service sector impacts the life-trajectories of formerly homeless young people. Particular attention will be paid to whether this intervention shows promise as an unconventional way to tackle poverty and improve social inclusion. It is hypothesize that, for the primary quantitative outcome measures of hope, community integration, social connectedness, and self-esteem: 1. Significant improvements in the mean scores of the intervention group compared to the delayed intervention comparison group immediately post-intervention will be observed. 2. Significant improvements in the mean scores of both groups (intervention and delayed intervention) immediately post-intervention will be observed. 3. These significant improvements will be sustained in both groups for at least three months post-intervention.