Around 30% of the Inuits of Nunavik (Quebec) are reported to Child Protective Services. In 2010, a Residence was developed specifically for these youngsters in order to respond to their clinical and cultural needs. The objective of the present study is to explore how youths use this residential space. The results suggest that, on the one hand, the residence constitutes a “permeable institution”, allowing a certain continuity in the youngsters, despites the many ruptures they’ve experienced, while, on the other hand, the young people who are marginalized in general have a tendency to gravitate towards relationships and towards the center when they have the space in which to do this.

Adolescence, 2014, 32, 3, 541-554.