Examining the perspective of young homeless people in Europe

4 research goals

The study on Combating Youth Homelessness will take place from May 2008 to May 2011 and has the following 4 goals:

1. To understand the life cycles of different groups of young homeless people in different
   national contexts;
2. To gain insight into the risks of social exclusion in relation to the personal experience of
   homeless young people and the possibilities for reintegration;
3. To gather more knowledge about how different working methods contribute to the participation
   and reintegration (i.e. empowerment) of young homeless people;
4. To understand the importance of relationships with the young counsellors, supporting professionals, peer mentors and family members to carry out support programs
   in the 4 countries.

Cooperation between researcher and co-researcher

In ‘Combating Youth Homelessness’ pairs are made between researcher and co-researcher. The researcher is someone from the university and the co-researcher is a former homeless youngster. Amongst others the researcher develops and leads training sessions, organises interviews with co-researchers and assists the co-researcher in the development of his/her competencies. The co-researcher follows a training course, has contact with the researcher after each interview, evaluates the research period and more. It is important for cooperation that the researcher and co-researcher build a relationship. The bond between the two is the basis for solving problems which will undoubtedly arise during the process. The reason for this is because it does not involve 'regular' employees, but ex-homeless youngsters who are trying to start over again. The role of the researcher is therefore multidisciplinary: from educator, rehabilitation counsellor to coach. The starting point for Combating Youth Homelessness is that researchers and co-researchers learn from each other: the co-researchers are trained in interview techniques and scientific research and the researchers learn about the world of (former) homeless young people.

Achievements should be celebrated festively

• Teaching research skills can best be thought in a functional manner. Therefore MOVISIE recommends to teach research skills by practicing a lot with the co-researchers. Also working in pairs is important in this process.
• The concentration curve of co-researchers is short. Recommendation: Group meetings should include a variety of activities. A tip for this is to keep formal and informal activities separate from one another. A certificate is more fun when it is officially issued. After a day of theory on research it is good to plan a physical activity.
• Researchers gain insight about the perspective of youth homelessness by assisting the co-researchers in a direct and immediate way. This gives the co-researchers room to say what they think, which means that the researchers will not fill in the gap for them. Recommendation: Phone calls after the interviews and during counselling periods provide much information. Interim evaluations, giving co-researchers a chance to state their opinion and thoughts after meetings and written final evaluations are valuable to receive feedback from the co-researchers.
• The guidance should not be too businesslike. Recommendation: Sending a nice text message or email during the fieldwork period is recommended. Finally, it is very important to celebrate successes/achievements in a festive manner.

Document type: research