The "Four Processes" of leaving homelessness in the Bridging the Transition Framework includes: 1) Survival, where a person is currently unhoused; 2) Adaptation. early in the process of being housed following homelessness; 3) Integration, where a person has been housed for longer and is beginning to integrate into their community; and 4) Precarity, where a person is at risk of losing their housing. The "Four Processes" The "Four Processes" of leaving homelessness in the Bridging the Transition Framework describes the processes of leaving homelessness. Each of these processes is described in Chapter 5 of the Bridging the Transition Framework book [1]. The "Four Processes" component of the framework is based on research conducted on the transition to housing following homelessness to provide a foundation for the Bridging the Transition Framework [2]. In this research, we identified the daily living needs and priorities identified by 36 individuals in two Canadian communities across the trajectory of unhoused to housing. Through this research process, we identified four processes of leaving homelessness that we included in the framework: Survival; Adaptation; Integration; and Precarity. The Survival Process The "Survival Process" is the time during which a person is unhoused. The person may be living in an emergency shelter, in transitional housing, in a sleeping cabin, in an encampment or directly on the street. The person may also be "couch surfing." Often a person is sleeping in a range of these situations. At this time in the process of leaving homelessness, the person's daily living needs are often survival. By survival, we refer to trying to stay safe, and securing sufficient resources to to be able to survive the elements, eat a sufficient amount of nutritious food, and manage a basic degree of self care with limited resources. The role of health and social care providers, researchers and policymakers during this process should be to help a person to secure permanent housing as soon as possible, and the necessary resources for safety and survival. The Adaptation Process During the "Adaptation Process," a person has recently moved into permanent housing. During this time, a person is just beginning to adapt to living in an apartment or other living situation for the first time in perhaps years. During this process, a person is often trying to remember how to care for their apartment, remembering how to pay bills and make their own food again. People who experience homelessness always have skills, they just have skills that are oriented to the environments in which they live. If a person has lived in shelters and encampments for many months or years, their skills will be oriented to what is needed to live in shelters and encampments. When people move into housing following homelessness, they often need to learn or re-learn skills associated with living in this new environment. This takes time. In our research on the transition to housing following homelessness, individuals often describe the need to 'decompress' following homelessness after moving into an apartment. They also discuss profound and debilitating boredom [3] that can make it difficult to cope with prior traumatic memories that may resurface during periods of unoccupied time. The role of health and social care providers, researchers and policymakers during the adaptation process is to help a person to adapt to their housing, learn or re-learn necessary skills to maintain their tenancy, find ways to occupy time in meaningful ways, and begin the process of building new social networks in the broad community. The Integration Process The "Integration Process" is the ultimate goal in the Bridging the Transition Framework. By integration, we refer to community integration [4], which is essential for tenancy sustainment and thriving following homelessness. In the Bridging the Transition Framework, we emphasize the need for targeting thriving rather than simply tenancy sustainment following homelessness. One definition of community integration advanced by Wong & Solomon [5] identifies that community integration comprises three components: Physical integration: Spending time in one's community outside of one's apartment, and having housing that is integrated in the community Social integration: Being embedded within social networks - that is, having relationships with a range of people of different social groupings Psychological integration: Having a sense of belonging in one's community During this process, the role of health and social care providers, researchers and policymakers is to help individuals who have left homelessness to build meaningful relationships with individuals in their broad community, and problem-solve through issues that may emerge that could threaten the loss of a tenancy. To learn more about the importance of community integration following homelessness, read Chapter 2 in the Bridging the Transition Framework Book: Social Inclusion and its Relevance to Homelessness Prevention and Transitioning Out of Homelessness . The Precarity Process The "Precarity Process" is a period that many people who are at risk of homelessness may experience due to structural problems in our society resulting in ongoing poverty after a person secures a tenancy. During this process, an individual is likely to be experiencing a high level of stress and may require emotional support to manage. A person in the precarity process will require support to access timely resources to avoid the loss of a tenancy during this time. In fact, this should be the focus of any support provided during this process - doing whatever is possible to avoid homelessness. The role, thus, of health and social care providers, researchers, and policymakers in the support of people in the precarity process is to find ways to mobilize resources quickly to help individuals to avoid the loss of a tenancy. This should be coupled with immediately available, and person-centred emotional supports to facilitating coping with the stress that precarity brings. What about the lines and jagged transitions? The jagged lines between each process highlight that transitions through these four processes are sensitive times in the journey of leaving homelessness. The solid arrows depict the ideal movement through each of the four processes, whereas the broken arrows depict how a person may lose their housing immediately or long after securing it (adaptation to precarity; integration to precarity) or may even be able to gain additional security in their tenancy thereby avoiding a tenancy loss (precarity to integration). Lived experience perspectives on the "Four Processes" In the video below, persons with lived experiences of homelessness describe their experiences and perspectives on the needs of individuals across the four processes. After watching this video, proceed to learning more about the next component of framework - the " Strategies " - or go back to learning more about other components of the framework . "Strategies" References Marshall, C. A. (2025). The “Four Processes” of Leaving Homelessness. In Bridging the Transition to Housing (pp. 53-64). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003541332-7 Marshall, C. A., Gewurtz, R., Ross, C., Becker, A., Cooke, A., Roy, L., ... & Kirsh, B. (2024). Beyond securing a tenancy: Using the capabilities approach to identify the daily living needs of individuals during and following homelessness. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 33(1), 81-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2022.2070098 Marshall, C. A., Cooke, A., Holmes, J., Bengall, J., Aryobi, S., Phillips, B., ... & Gewurtz, R. (2024). “It’s like your days are empty and yet there’s life all around”: A mixed methods, multi-site study exploring boredom during and following homelessness. Plos one, 19(5), e0302900. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302900 Marshall, C. A., Boland, L., Westover, L. A., Marcellus, B., Weil, S., & Wickett, S. (2020). Effectiveness of interventions targeting community integration among individuals with lived experiences of homelessness: A systematic review. Health & Social Care in the Community, 28(6), 1843-1862. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13030 Wong, Y. L. I., & Solomon, P. L. (2002). Community integration of persons with psychiatric disabilities in supportive independent housing: A conceptual model and methodological considerations. Mental health services research, 4(1), 13-28. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1014093008857 Dej, E., Smith, C., Petersen, H., Bute, C., Schwan, K., & Malenfant, J. (2025). Social Inclusion and Its Relevance to Homelessness Prevention and Transitioning out of Homelessness. In Bridging the Transition to Housing (pp. 27-40). Routledge.

The authors of the Bridging the Transition Framework, a framework designed to guide practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in homelessness prevention, was developed by researchers and practitioners across several universities in Canada including Western University, McMaster University, University of British Columbia, Université de Montréal, and Queen's University. Framework Authors A range of scholars and practitioners have been involved in the development and evaluation of the Bridging the Transition Framework. Each of these individuals, and their contributions to the Framework is listed below. Carrie Anne Marshall , PhD, OT Reg.(Ont.) Associate Professor, Director of the Social Justice in Mental Health Research Lab, and Advancing Western Research Chair in Homelessness Prevention and Mental Health Equity, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Dr. Marshall has led the development, evaluation and mobilization of the Bridging the Transition Framework since it was initially conceptualized. She is the lead author on both editions of the Bridging the Transition Framework documents, and the principal editor of the Bridging the Transition book, which was published in 2025. She regularly leads workshops on the Bridging the Transition Framework to guide practitioners, organizations, policymakers, and researchers in the incorporation of evidence-informed practices and advocacy in their communities. Rebecca Gewurtz, PhD, OT Reg.(Ont.) Associate Professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Dr. Gewurtz has been involved in the development of the Bridging the Transition Framework since its inception. She also co-edited the Bridging the Transition book, which was published in 2025. Dr. Gewurtz has been involved in co-facilitating the Bridging the Transition workshop. Skye Barbic, PhD, OT Reg.(B.C.) Associate Professor, School of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Integrated Youth Services, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Dr. Barbic has been involved in the development of the Bridging the Transition Framework since its inception. She also co-edited the Bridging the Transition book, which was published in 2025. Dr. Barbic has been involved in co-facilitating the Bridging the Transition workshop. Laurence Roy, PhD. Erg. Associate Professor, School of Rehabilitation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada Dr. Roy has been involved in the development of the Bridging the Transition Framework since its inception. She wrote Chapter 2 in the Bridging the Bridging the Transition Framework Book: Function and Participation in Daily Life Activities as a Key Component of Research and Practice in Homelessness Prevention. Rosemary Lysaght, PhD, OT Reg.(Ont.) Professor Emerita, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Lysaght has been involved in the development of the Bridging the Transition Framework since its inception. Dr. Lysaght’s research focuses on occupational participation of persons who experience social exclusion, particularly with respect to productivity and work. She has led research and evaluation studies in Canada, the U.S., and internationally and studied both traditional and non-traditional models for promoting productive engagement. She has consulted internationally on social enterprise scholarship and practice. She currently supports policy development related to housing, homelessness, health and well being as part of the Kingston and District Social Planning Council. Abrial Cooke, MSc.OT, OT Reg.(Ont.) Occupational Therapist Manager, Waterloo Regional Health Network, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and Educator at Western University, in London, Ontario, Canada Ms. Cooke was involved in the initial development of the Bridging the Transition Framework, and has been involved in co-facilitating the Bridging the Transition workshop. She also participated as a co-investigator on the research that provided a foundation for the development and refinement of the Bridging the Transition Framework.

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