Relationships, and the establishment of them, are a fundamental component of our work in community whether in service-learning settings or in conducting communitybased research. Yet, seldom do we articulate how we develop, negotiate, maintain, and manage or even understand these interactions. Reflection, a critical and necessary component underlying community-based practice, can be used to explore these aspects. In this paper we present the reflections of women who have been homeless and student researchers who were involved in a community-based research project related to women and homelessness. The reflections share their common journey of moving from uncertainty and fear to becoming increasing comfortable in the process of collaborative community-based research. This journey occurs through the creation of a shared purpose related to both individual empowerment and creating social change and social justice for other women who are marginalized by poverty and homelessness.