The Union of the Dispossessed Foundation
Union Life-Path Interview Set
Suggested order: accessible first, sensitive later
Purpose: Provide a consistent, participant-centred way to understand strengths, turning points, barriers, supports, and life pathways without reducing people to labels.
This sequence is a suggested trust-building order, not a rigid rule. Interviewers should use judgment and stop or defer any topic that is not appropriate.
Suggested Sequence
Core Interview Rule
Map the person's path, not merely their problems. Ask what happened, what surrounded it, what changed afterward, what helped, and what might have changed the path.
Recording Rule
Keep only information that helps understand pathways, strengths, barriers, supports, safety, or service design. Avoid unnecessary names, addresses, offence details, medical diagnoses, and third-party allegations.
Suggested interview order
• No. — Interview — Why here
• 01 — First Experience of Belonging — Positive, concrete, and usually easy to enter.
• 02 — First Person Who Genuinely Helped — Builds trust by starting with effective support.
• 03 — First Meaningful Employment — Surfaces pride, competence, and contribution.
• 04 — Work — Moves from strengths into barriers and employment patterns.
• 05 — School — Often accessible while revealing early strengths and disconnection.
• 06 — Housing — Introduces stability, independence, and practical barriers.
• 07 — Family Separation — More personal; best after some rapport is established.
• 08 — Homelessness — Explores survival, service barriers, and dignity.
• 09 — Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being — Sensitive and non-diagnostic; participant controls depth.
• 10 — First Involvement With Drugs — Explores exposure, use, context, escalation, and missing supports.
• 11 — First Contact With RCMP / Legal Proceedings — Explores early system contact and understanding.
• 12 — Incarceration — Examines custody, re-entry, institutional habits, and supports.
• 13 — Violence — Most sensitive; avoid graphic detail and unnecessary admissions.
• 14 — Life-Path Synthesis Prompt — Used after several interviews to build a whole-person synthesis.