Vacations for street youth? Workers perspectives concerning the “Répit-Urbain” Program (urban respite)
The Répit-Urbain (urban respite) project offers street youth a structured vacation in the country. This vacation is designed to help the youth develop his personal skills and learn about the harmful effects of drug and alcohol consumption. During the first year of this initiative, nine partner organizations composed 17 groups who participated in the project. In this way, 148 homeless people participated in the Répit-Urbain activities accompanied by workers who were already involved with them. This study focussed on two main objectives : 1) to verify the extent to which Répit-Urbain was able to reach street youth and, 2) to document the perspective of the workers who participated in the project since, in spending time with the persons referred to them, they were obliged to work under conditions very different to those in the street. The study involved 25 workers. The results indicate that, according to the workers, the project did respond to the youths’ need for “respite” and encouraged the acquisition of knowledge on subjects they considered important. In general, the program’s structure was appreciated as well as the post-stay impacts, including the intensification of the relationship between the youth and their workers. The partnership model proposed offers an interesting potential for street youth, a population considered difficult to reach within the scope of services provided in a “traditional” manner. It also appears to combine certain conditions that contribute to the creation and consolidation of an alliance between homeless people and their workers.