Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Demonstration Lab (MtS DEMS) is a multi-year, collaborative project that is working to develop and test approaches to support the prevention of and facilitate sustainable exits from homelessness. For Phase One of MtS DEMS (2017-2020), these interventions were put in place across 12 sites in Canada with the goal of reaching 1,300 young people and providing the best possible outcomes for young people and their families.
What is MtS DEMS?
MtS DEMS uses design thinking to expand our knowledge and understanding of innovative approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness by identifying, developing, testing, evaluating, and mobilizing innovations in policy and practice, through the implementation of comprehensive demonstration projects. The long-term goal is to reduce youth homelessness and ensure the best possible outcomes for young people.
Who is MtS DEMS?
MtS DEMS is a joint endeavour co-led by A Way Home Canada (AWHC) and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH) with support from MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. Both COH and AWHC staff work on the MtS DEMS project, along with stakeholders spanning the national, provincial, Indigenous, and local levels as well as the public, private, and non-profit spheres.
COH & AWHC have partnered with local organizations in ten communities in two provinces to deliver services to youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. See the Demonstration Projects page for further information.
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The Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Demonstration Lab is a partnership between A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness with the support of MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. Phase One of MtS DEMS (2017-2020) has been funded by the Government of Canada through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS).
