I Helped Build That: A Demonstration Employment Training Program for Homeless Youth in Toronto, Canada

In this case study I present preliminary findings on the development of Eva's Phoenix—a pilot project designed to provide housing and employment-training opportunities for homeless youth in Toronto, Canada. I focus on the construction-training program for youth and explore some of the tensions that can arise in a project of this nature. These include consulting youth about the project's directions and facilitating their participation, representational authority in relation to how the project is promoted, and the need to reconcile different values and expectations for delivering the program on the part of partnering organizations and the youth themselves. I challenge perceptions of welfare and welfare reform in relation to youth and offer some insights into what types of services and interventions can potentially help homeless youth, [homelessness, youth, housing, employment training]