Open for Business: Exploring the Life Stages of Two Canadian Street Youth Shelters

Youth shelters have emerged as significant resources for homeless and runaway adolescents. Through participant observations of shelter culture, review of agency archival materials, and in-depth interviews with 21 shelter workers (front line staff, middle managers, and upper-level executives), this analysis explores the life stages of two Canadian street youth shelters, highlighting the dramatic transformations in their internal operations and external environments. This paper also offers an understanding of organizational evolutionary processes.

Publication Date: 
2002
Pages: 
99-116
Volume: 
29
Issue: 
4
Journal Name: 
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
Location: 
Boston, USA