Jen (a pseudonym) is a bright, cheerful young woman who is wise beyond her years. In Grade 10, she calculated the number of credits she would need to graduate early and followed through with her plan, taking a high concentration of classes and even a college course in agriculture to become a horticulturalist, which certified her to work in green houses. She graduated this past January, six months ahead of time. Despite these accomplishments, not all has been well with Jen.

Recently I spoke with Alexandra Amiri, a former Research Assistant with the Making the Shift Demonstration Lab, to learn about how the pandemic shifted the context of research and how the lab was able to adapt the Housing First for Youth RCT design to respond to an unprecedented global health and economic crisis.