Under the guidance of a NAPO committee, Marie-Jose Dancoste, NAPO researcher, travelled to three cities (Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver) in the summer of 2001 to meet with women who self-identified as "homeless". Dancoste met with numerous agencies and those who work with homeless people. She posted notices in public places and put out informational bulletins and ads in local papers and newsletters advertising the NAPO study as one which was intended to promote "action and change". She made a conscious decision not to interview women through the shelter system (as this kind of study had already been done). Instead, she made a concerted effort to find women who either spent nights outdoors, "in the rough", or who lived in what they identified as precarious positions. Some of the women she interviewed were homeless but not without shelter, while others were completely without shelter. Forty-six women who self-identified as homeless were paid $20 for their interviews. The women talked about their histories and experiences of homelessness and their attempts to find homes. Many were drawn from across the country and to the urban cities as part of the general migration pattersn in Canada. Others had made their homes in these cities for generations. Typists transcribed the interviews and the researcher checked the transcripts for accuracy while writing a draft document called "Voices from the Margins". Names have been changed as one of the project's agreements with all participants.