One of the serendipitous consequences of the National Homeless Initiative to build community capacity to address problems and solutions of Canada's homeless population (Government of Canada, 2004) was the development and evaluation of an innovative emergency shelter for "total" families, including both adult partners and their dependents, regardless of age or gender. While the overwhelming majority of family shelters house women and young children (Weinreb & Rossie, 1995), few admit adult or adolescent males. Historically this has entailed the break-up of vulnerable families, as they are housed in separate shelters (Susser, 1992; Waegemakers Schiff, 2004b). In this new shelter initiative, collaboration among community partners led to the rapid implementation of a comprehensive program for homeless "total" families. The unique features included housing all family members in the same facility, the presence of adult and adolescent males, and on-site delivery of services by multiple organizations that serve the homeless. Because the lead agencies had not been able to locate a comparable program upon which to model this shelter, an evaluation of the program was also implemented. The results of this effort were multiple: development of a comprehensive program for homeless families; recognition of a significant number of two-adult families and custodial fathers, and their diverse needs, from temporary accommodation to long-term skill development; recognition that most Canadian (and American) homeless programs do not provide services to "total" families (Waegemakers Schiff, 2004b); and verification of the impact of an effective community collaboration for delivery of innovative programs. (abstract from http://proquest.umi.com)