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Applying a strong, articulate, and systemic analysis to on-the-ground narratives, Oliver is able to offer fresh, incisive recommendations for health and social service providers with the potential to effect real-world change for this marginalized population

Applying a strong, articulate, and systemic analysis to on-the-ground narratives, Oliver is able to offer fresh, incisive recommendations for health and social service providers with the potential to effect real-world change for this marginalized population.

The fostering of resilience in young people is based on a variety of social, cultural, and political factors that impact their interactions with and in the community. Through analysis of life history narratives of young women experiencing homelessness, this research links resilience not to traits inherent in individual young people, but to sustained social support. We emphasize the importance of key familial relationships as they relate to the development of resilience in young people. This research shows that positive connections within family, broadly defined to include families of choice and extended family networks, are vital to supporting young people experiencing homelessness. We also pay particular attention to the implications of family and resilience in the lives of Aboriginal young women experiencing homelessness, recognizing the significance of decolonization, cultural identity, and Indigenous world views in the success and stability of Aboriginal young people. This article argues that policy approaches to youth homelessness should address and eradicate policies that have a history of perpetuating culture erasure and the continuation of colonization. In order to enhance resilience, youth require a multi-systemic approach that provides support in the form of family reconnection, which acknowledges and respects a broader definition of family, moving beyond the nuclear family to extended family members, families of choice, and supportive communities.

This article looks at the means through which homeless young women are able to improve their flow of social capital by attaining a sense of belonging and forming positive attachments to supportive people and places. In so doing, they also develop relationships with health and social services and improve their overall physical and mental health through stable and supportive interactions. In working with homeless youth, however, the very concept of social capital must be adapted to appropriately respond both to their unique social needs and to the less traditional means by which they are able to attain it. Here, the authors explore the ways in which homeless young women are forming attachments and thereby accruing social capital outside of the nuclear family unit: through extended family, service providers, peers, and online social networks.

This article explores the ways in which (a) Indigenous youth involved in an HIV intervention took up and reclaimed their cultures as a project of defining 'self', and (b) how Indigenous 'culture' can be used as a tool for resistance, HIV prevention and health promotion. Data were drawn from the Taking Action Project: Using arts-based approaches to develop Aboriginal youth leadership in HIV prevention. 'By youth, for youth' HIV education and awareness workshops were facilitated in six Indigenous communities across Canada, incorporating traditional and contemporary art forms to explore how youth perceived the links between structural inequality and HIV vulnerability. Over 100 youth participated, with 70 partaking in individual interviews to reflect on their experiences at the workshops. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVivo software. Indigenous youth understood culture as a complex construct that included reconnecting to land, body, history, community and ceremony. For many youth, being Aboriginal and participating in cultural activities was seen as important for intergenerational healing, empowerment, health and combatting HIV. Youth spoke excitedly of their attempts to reclaim their languages and cultures despite barriers. They also understood art as a medium for self-expression and as an important site of cultural evolution.Our project demonstrates that the incorporation of culture within health strategies is important for effective HIV prevention amongst Indigenous youth. Reclaiming Indigenous cultures, languages and ceremonies may help to nurture future generations, diminish cycles of victimisation and combat hopelessness by reconnecting youth to stories of resistance and survival.Keywords: Indigenous youth, culture, HIV prevention, arts-based research

BackgroundTaking Action II is a community-based participatory action research project that adopted a strengths-based approach to thinking about Indigenous youth HIV prevention activism. Eighteen diverse Indigenous youth leaders produced digital stories about Indigenizing HIV prevention during the summer of 2012 at a week-long retreat. Youth were interviewed twice: right after they created their stories and again after community screenings. In the summer of 2013, youth reunited to collaboratively analyze the themes and meanings of their stories. Seven overlapping themes emerged that demonstrated how youth see HIV in the context of their lives' and community. The stories make connections between HIV and structural violence, culture and relationships. In particular, in the context of HIV prevention, they focus on (1) the role of family and elders, (2) traditional sacred notions of sexuality, (3) the importance of education, (4) reclaiming history, (5) focusing on strength, (6) Indigenous cosmology and (7) overcoming addictions. In contrast to conventional public health messaging, youth produced stories rarely focused on individual harm reduction strategies. Instead, ideas of Indigeneity and decolonization were foregrounded as key strategies for health promotion work.