Investigating the Impacts of the Successful Families Program

A recent CBR project* led by researchers from the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP), has revealed the initial impacts of the Successful Families program—a supportive housing program designed to help teen parents secure safe and affordable housing.

“We hope that, through sharing the impacts of the program on teen parents, we can contribute to evolving effective practices for working with teen families, not only through supportive housing, but through services delivered to teen families more generally,” says Dr. Melissa Tremblay, Assistant Professor of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta.

Supportive housing initiatives provide flexible, individualized and accessible supports to people experiencing vulnerable circumstances to achieve housing stability. The study found that teen parents participating in the program felt:

  • Less stress (79%)
  • More confident as a parent (89%)
  • They could better afford their monthly rent (84%)
  • They lived in a safe place (79%)
  • Their basic needs for clothing (89%), food (84%) and shelter (95%) were being met.

Additionally, the program helped participating teen families establish “natural supports”—an extended support network (family, friends, neighbours and co-workers) outside of the program that would benefit participants after their involvement in the program ends.

The study also revealed areas that required additional provisions, such as budget management and developing relationships with other program participants.

Impacts on service delivery practices

The goal of evaluating, testing, and examining the impacts of the Successful Families program was to establish a suitable and relevant program model of supportive housing, which could be shared with other community agencies.

“Since carrying out this project, a number of agencies have expressed interest in the Successful Families program model and the program continues to share their practices through ongoing knowledge mobilization,” says Tremblay. “This program is highly unique, and we continue to disseminate our learnings regarding promising practices that we were able to delve into with our research methods.”

Teens participating in the program were asked what service delivery models are required for their needs to be met and programs to be most effective. Three main themes emerged: access to supports and services such as the food bank, library, and preschool programs; safe, secure, and affordable housing that allows teens to parent autonomously; and a safe and family-friendly neighbourhood, community integration, and acceptance.

The Research

Several methods were used to determine the initial impacts of the Successful Families program, including self-report questionnaires for parents, child development assessments, photovoice, and meeting notes and observations. Qualitative data (photovoice and corresponding group discussions, meeting notes and observations) were analyzed using thematic analysis—a method of analysis for identifying, analyzing, organizing, describing and reporting themes within a data set. Quantitative data (self-report questionnaires and child assessments) were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The photovoice method was used to gain insight from teen parents about their experiences receiving supportive housing. Photovoice is a participatory method in which participants use photography and storytelling to identify and represent issues important to them. For this project, parents were asked to take photos in response to two specific questions and send their photos to the researchers for discussion.

For researchers, Tremblay and Rebecca Gokiert, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta, photovoice allowed for meaningful participation from teen parents, which provided them with opportunities for growth and empowerment.

“We hope that our research facilitates enhanced understanding of the realities and perspectives of teen parents, as well as increasing recognition of teen families’ strengths,” says Tremblay.

The research findings emerge as the final component of a two-phase project. Phase 1, which also received funding from Homeward Trust through the Community-Based Research program, focused on developing and implementing the Successful Families Program; Phase 2 examined the initial impacts of the program. Dr. Tremblay and Dr. Gokiert will continue working with the Successful Families program to explore how to expand mental health services for teen families through a Clinical/Community Research Integration Support Program (CRISP) grant provided through the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI).

*This project is one of many Community-Based Research (CBR) projects supported by Homeward Trust through the Federal Reaching Home program. CBR research projects receive funding to explore issues related to homelessness that provide evidence for leading practices in the sector, identify knowledge gaps, and build collaboration among academic and community-based partners to inform system planning efforts. To learn more about this project or other community-based research relating to housing and homelessness, visit http://homewardtrust.ca/what-weve-learned/reports-publications/

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the traditional home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples. The nêhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Inuit, and Métis, among many others cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to steward it today. As visitors in this territory, we honour the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities. Only in partnership can we create the changes necessary to end homelessness. It is vital we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous people and communities in this work while recognizing and addressing the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous people in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.