This article examines the collective action practices of Auberges du coeur and, through the study of the speakers’ speeches, their conceptions of the autonomy of youth in difficulty. The authors rely on participatory action research on these practices and on the role of stakeholders in their deployment. From a secondary analysis, they construe different conceptions emerging on the autonomy pursued by these community shelters. From the stakeholders’ point of view, collective action would have the aim to favour the development of three forms of autonomy: personal, relational and political. In this process of empowerment, stakeholders seek to play a leading role in engaging youth and supporting their transformation into a political subject, but with all the challenges involved, some paradoxes appear.