Breaking free: the power of connection and identity
’ Blah blah blah, post-traumatic stress disorder, disability, Robin

“Over the course of 2.5 years, we saw some of the young people begin to break free from the fog of exclusion. While this was not always a linear path, we observed a pattern of connection—spiritual, internal, and external—among those on the journey to inclusion. That sense of connection was intrinsically linked to an awareness of being “home” and possessing strong identity capital—a sense of purpose, control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem (Côté, 
I’ve been working a lot. I’ve been getting to know a lot of my coworkers, so it’s been alright. It’s a really small town out here so everybody knows each other. [My job is] unionized so people that work there for like 10 to 15 years, they know each other. They are all good people; I like working with them. […] I use work like it’s an antidepressant […] It makes me feel productive, like I’m actually contributing to society. […] I got a lot of relatives that have been on disability their whole lives. Like, it’s not a good way to live your life, right? Like nobody’s ever going to be happy like that. Really, it’s an endless cycle. (Robin, 30-month interview)In this excerpt, Robin articulates the inextricable link between connection, mental well-being, and a sense of purpose. Robin began experiencing homelessness as a teenager—living under a bridge at one point—battled addiction and struggled with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. At his baseline interview, he described his one-room accommodation as a “prison cell” where “mice watch me sleep” and described himself as “a worthless piece of shit” with a general dislike/distrust of others. In baseline interview field notes, the lead author described his appearance as “disheveled” and noted his clothing, hair, and hands appeared unwashed. By his 12-month interview, Robin had moved in with his mom who was living in a small community, and by his 24-month interview, he had found full-time employment in a factory that offered a stable job and a living wage salary. At his 30-month interview, he agreed to a video call (the 12-, 18-, and 24-month interviews were done over the phone), and the lead author noted in her field notes how different he looked compared to when they first met—he was well groomed and seemed happy. It was inspiring to witness Robin’s journey, which would likely have gone a different direction if not for the connection with family, community, and employment.Diverse connections—spiritual, internal, and external—helped foster a sense of purpose and healthy self-esteem, and in return, having a sense of purpose and healthy self-esteem fostered diverse connections:
Sometimes when I’m feeling down or when something happens, I call people around me. I have people like [friend] and I call her sometimes. And I call some of the church members. My pastor, she has my number. She calls me all the time. I call her any time. So, I call her [the pastor], I tell her what happened. And she’ll be like, ‘Oh don’t worry, it will be fine. Everybody goes through this.’ Blah blah blah. ‘We’ll pray for you.’ I’ll be like, ‘Okay thank you so much.’ And then my mind will kind of lift up again. And some students I met in school in first semester, they were already in their second or third semester, so I talked to them. They’ll be like, ‘This is how it is. Just don’t give up. You should be fine. You’ll be okay.’ You need positive people around you. Like even [former outreach worker from the shelter] too, I talk to her, and she’ll be like, ‘Sara don’t worry [laughs], you’ll get through it. Yeah, I always call people when I’m having a bad time. I call [former outreach worker], I call my friends, and people in the church. I’ll be like, ‘Oh Jesus, how can I do this?’ They’ll be like, ‘Don’t worry; you will do it.’ (Sara, 24-month interview)Sara had come to Canada alone as a teenage refugee and spent several years working for minimum wage and living precariously while upgrading her high school education. When she enrolled in the study, she was embarking on a 2-year practical nursing diploma, which she finished, graduating on the Dean’s list. While Sara definitely had a sense of purpose, life was challenging at times, and she was sometimes tempted to give up. Instead, she reached out to her strong network of informal mentors—friends, church members, fellow students, and her former outreach worker—for encouragement and support. Two insights are notable from this excerpt: (1) an understanding of the need to be surrounded by positive people and (2) most of the time, the impetus was on Sara to reach out. In other words, there was an intentionality—a strategy—to Sara’s journey and a symbiotic relationship between identity, connection, and the ability to break through the liminality of post-homelessness and reach toward a sense of home.