Fresh perspectives: Capturing the experiences of youth in three residential living programs: A case study

Making the transition from adolescence to adulthood is an important and usually unavoidable part of the life process. Youth who have experienced out of home care or youth who have been homeless or unaccompanied by an adult in some way are at a higher risk for not making this transition successfully. To better assist these populations, a variety of Independent and Transitional Living Programs have been established to provide services to better support these youth. Much remains to be learned regarding what works as described by youth who participate in these programs. In this study, I draw from the values of grounded theory to conduct an inductive analysis of narratives from three informal group interviews with youth participating in three residential living programs in Washington DC. Illuminating the experiences of residents serves to provide youth with a voice in the evaluation process as themes emerge regarding motivation, accomplishments, and resilience.