The process is simple.  When a young person first comes to THE DOORWAY with the intent to leave street culture, he/she has the choice to use THE DOORWAY as a life option, or not.  If this person chooses yes, then he/she becomes a member of THE DOORWAY community.  

Once a member, a young person has access to ‘MyPlan’: a DOORWAY made, life organization and planning tool, modeled after critical path project management methods.  

As a structure, MyPlan has 13 life categories (housing, employment, education, finances, drugs/alcohol, legal, personal, problem-solving, planning, identification, volunteer, and leadership) that provide participants the necessary reference points to assess personal life needs and goals, and plan changes relevant to their priorities.  

Every plan that a young person makes follows a similar process.  A young person uses the MyPlan structure to focus on and assess her life in a category of her choice.  She then makes a plan to change something in that category.  After constructing the plan, she then has a conversation with a mainstream community member about her plan. And after another conversation, and receipt of an incentive for her plan, she then leaves THE DOORWAY with a new personal point of reference, money, and successful community engagement.  

Each young person receives a community investment of $15/plan, for up to 8 plans per month.

When she comes back, she begins the process again.  She re-assesses her life, uses the MyPlan structure, has two community conversations, and leaves again with another personal point of reference, money, and successful community engagement.  Over the span of two years, this reiterative process helps a participant engage in herself while making self-determined changes in a supportive community context.