In January 2006 Raising the Roof launched Youthworks – a national initiative aimed at breaking the cycle of homelessness among young Canadians, and supporting them to build a better future. Based on the need to better understand the issue of youth homelessness, we undertook a three-year research project to track and describe the experiences of 689 street-involved youth in three Canadian cities – Calgary, Toronto and St. John’s. The project findings and considerable subsequent expert feedback on those findings have enabled us to develop a snapshot of youth homelessness in Canada today.