Six years ago, A Way Home Canada, together with the team at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, set out on a truly ambitious journey by launching the Making the Shift (MtS) Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab. Backed by a Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) grant, we set our sights on something bold: proving that youth homelessness in Canada could not only be reduced, but prevented altogether.

Today, I’m thrilled to say that MtS has contributed so much to our movement. It has reshaped national policy, empowered young leaders with lived experience, and shown communities that prevention is both possible and powerful.

Download the MtS Impact Summary Report here

Building a Coalition for Prevention

At its core, MtS has always been about deep, meaningful partnership. Guided by the values of co-creation and co-ownership, MtS brought together a brilliant tapestry of lived experts, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and service providers from coast to coast. Incredibly, over 2,800 young people and 400 families directly benefited from MtS’ demonstration projects, and thousands more practitioners accessed MtS-supported training and resources, reimagining their own approaches to youth homelessness.

The MtS’ Scholars with Lived Experience Network deserves a very special mention. This national incubator championed young scholars who had themselves experienced homelessness, creating space for their voices in both research and governance. Their insights shaped every stage of MtS, ensuring that prevention was not just studied but lived.

Transforming Communities

MtS invested in projects that tested prevention in real-world settings: Housing First for Youth, Family and Natural Supports, Indigenous-led approaches, and more. These programs improved housing stability, mental health, and family relationships, showing that prevention works when rooted in culture, equity, and community.

The impact extends beyond research. Communities gained new tools, engaging training, and a resurgence of confidence to champion prevention in everyday practice. We secured an additional $28.1 million to expand MtS’ demonstration projects, thereby multiplying the reach and sustainability of these efforts.

Shaping National and Global Narratives

Prevention is now front and centre in the work on homelessness. Because of MtS, it’s embedded in Canada’s 2024 Reaching Home directives, which include defining youth homelessness, prioritizing youth-specific supports, promoting Family and Natural Supports, and Housing First for Youth (including Indigenous youth), acknowledging the role of multiple systems, and highlighting risks for youth leaving child welfare.

MtS’ work is also recognized globally. Our 2025 International Conference on the Prevention of Youth Homelessness, where over 600 participants came together from around the world, was a wonderful testament to this growing global movement.

In June 2021, MtS was recognized as a Geneva United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Charter Centre of Excellence. Through the Toronto Centre of Excellence (TCE) on Youth Homelessness Prevention, we serve as an ‘international megaphone,’ helping to share and adapt Canadian and global innovations, leadership, and best practices for preventing youth homelessness. This platform enables us to create intentional international partnerships and achieve lasting transformation in policy and practice, while securing the legacy of Making the Shift well into the future.

International learning has significantly deepened our work, with our teams sharing MtS insights at major conferences, such as the European Observatory on Homelessness (FEANTSA) annual conference. These opportunities enable us to adopt effective strategies, build meaningful relationships, and foster partnerships that will ultimately advance our mission.

Celebrating Innovation and Leadership

Back home, MtS shone a light on local leadership through the annual MtS Youth Homelessness Prevention Awards, with eight communities celebrated to date for innovative prevention practices. They also helped identify future research areas and best practices that other communities can adopt. These awards, supported generously by Canada Life Assurance Co., will continue to spotlight community efforts beyond MtS.

Looking Ahead

Although the MtS NCE grant has officially closed, the MtS Lab’s work continues through A Way Home Canada, COH, and our partners. What began as a bold, shared idea has turned into a collective promise: youth homelessness in Canada can and will be prevented.

As we carry this work forward, I warmly invite communities, all levels of governments, and allies to join us. Prevention is more than a strategy; it’s a movement, and it belongs to all of us.