Homelessness work has been greatly enriched in recent years by the work of homeless outreach providers. The Pathways Out of Homelessness research study considers the post-homelessness situation of individuals housed through one of BC Housing’s homelessness services programs ― the Homeless Outreach Program, the Aboriginal Homeless Outreach Program and the Emergency Shelter Progam. The research was commissioned by Metro Vancouver, in partnership with BC Housing.
The study seeks to identify the key factors influencing the housing successes of people who were formerly homeless and those who maintained housing for six months or more. To answer this question, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in an attempt to understand what worked well for people and what were the main challenges they had to overcome.
The main data sources included key-informant interviews with service providers, key-informant interviews with formerly homeless clients, and aggregate level client data by municipality/sub region from the Homelessness Services System. In total, the research team conducted 23 interviews with outreach workers and 37 interviews with clients from throughout Metro Vancouver.
A number of client groups were under-represented in the research, including women, young clients and Aboriginal clients. Future research that focuses on these groups has been suggested.