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Collaborative songwriting with children experiencing homelessness and family violence to understand the resources they draw upon when life gets hard. The majority of the literature about children experiencing homelessness and family violence focusses on reporting problems and highlighting detrimental health, educational and developmental outcomes for children. In contrast, there is little acknowledgement of children’s personal resources and capacities in times of crisis. Rebecca’s research aims to embed children’s voices in to the current discourse and to explore the strengths and resources that they draw upon when life gets hard. Song writing was used as a collaborative research method to co-construct knowledge with children through group and individual interviews, with children being invited to write songs about what helps them to ‘do well’ in their everyday lives. The songs created represent the capacity and resilience of children despite their experiences of transience and violence, while also acknowledging the gaps in the service system including the limited social and emotional opportunities for children in this context.