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Chapter 1 - What is Eva's Phoenix?
Chapter 2 - Eva's National Initiative
Chapter 3 - Homeless Youth - Who Are They?
Chapter 4 - Effective Programs
for Homeless Youth
Chapter 5 - Developing the Vision
for Eva's Phoenix
Chapter 6 - Turning the Vision into Reality
Chapter 7 - Developing Strategic Partnerships
Chapter 8 - Working with Funders
Chapter 9 - Youth Goal-Setting and
Case Management Approach
Chapter 10 - Working with Youth
Chapter 11 - Mentorship
Chapter 12 - Working with Staff
Chapter 13 - Making the Transition
to Community
Chapter 14 - Social Enterprise
Chapter 15 - Evaluation
Chapter 16 - Policies and Procedures

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Chapter 15 - Evaluation

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As part of the development of its National Initiative Program, an independent evaluation of Eva’s Phoenix was completed in 2003 to determine what elements of the program were working and why. Some of the highlights of the evaluation were the following:

  • 97% of youth surveyed said the program helped stabilize their lives
  • 84% of youth had previously lived in shelters; that number dropped to 32% after participation in the program
  • 78% said the program improved their ability to find and keep a job
  • 71% said they improved their housing conditions
  • Nine months after completing the program, 60% of the youth located were still employed or enrolled in school
  • 66% enrolled in an educational/training program after graduation
  • At the beginning of the program, only 23% had regular contact with their families; after graduation, that number doubled

In addition:

  • According to stakeholders, Eva’s Phoenix is a tightly focussed, mission-driven organization.
  • Youth participants feel that the programs and Eva’s Phoenix work for them.
  • The evaluation described some of the specific paths which youth took in addressing their challenges. Eva’s Phoenix helped youth by assisting them to meet their essential needs (food and shelter) as well as providing them with a place where they felt safe. Once these concerns were addressed, youth could move on to address intermediate level concerns, such as employment. Developing confidence in themselves and motivation was also a major stage for the youth that usually occurred later in their stay in the program.
  • One-third of the participants were discharged early from the program, half of them within the first three months. Eva’s Phoenix is trying to develop strategies to identify and retain these youth by providing critical program and counselling interventions early on in their stay.
  • Post-program follow-up is critical, but is limited by program resources (and the irregular patterns of the youth).
  • Overall, Eva’s Phoenix meets the diversity of needs presented by youth participants by way of a flexible and holistic approach. Stakeholders have a high regard for Eva’s Phoenix, staff is competent and motivated, and youth feel the programs help them.
  • Many elements of Eva’s Phoenix could be replicated in other communities, although the starting point needs to be the attention to mission and the quality of implementation.

 

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