{"id":1273,"date":"2024-05-07T19:31:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T19:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowery.org\/updates\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2024-05-07T19:32:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T19:32:01","slug":"trauma-informed-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowery.org\/updates\/2024\/05\/trauma-informed-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Trauma & homelessness: What\u2019s the connection?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At The Bowery Mission, we value trauma-informed care. But what exactly is trauma? And how does it relate to the experience of homelessness? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trauma is a physical and psychological response to extraordinarily stressful events and experiences. When a person has experienced trauma, they have experienced something so distressing that it has overwhelmed their body and brain\u2019s ability to cope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all experience difficult things in life. But with trauma, difficult or harmful experiences continue to negatively affect a person\u2019s well-being and ability to function in everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma and homelessness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Homelessness is connected with trauma in a number of ways. First, a person who is facing homelessness has often experienced  a series of traumatic events prior to the trauma of homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, this trauma may include childhood abuse, neglect or household dysfunction. For others, these traumatic experiences may include more recent crises and losses, including the death of a loved one, divorce, abuse or intimate partner violence,  job loss, financial hardship, eviction or mental health crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet no matter if a person experienced trauma earlier in life or more recently, it is important to understand that homelessness is not as simple as being \u201cwithout housing.\u201d People who are experiencing homelessness have often lost a sense of home, community, stability or safety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, the experience of homelessness \u2014 not knowing where one is going to sleep, what you are going to eat or where you can go for help \u2014 is often traumatic in and of itself. It also puts you at risk of further trauma, because you are now in a situation where you\u2019re more likely to experience danger.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The impact of trauma <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traumatic experiences deeply challenge a person\u2019s fundamental belief that the world is a safe place and that people can be trusted. Because of this, people who have undergone trauma may feel unsafe in new environments or have difficulty in relationships.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people who have experienced trauma have come to expect control, manipulation or harm from others instead of kindness or goodness. People may also believe that a better future is simply not possible \u2014 anything once hoped for is out of reach.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma can also make it more difficult to regulate emotions and behaviors. This means that, at certain times, a person may feel tense, jumpy, anxious, overwhelmed or on high alert, while at other times, a person may feel numb, disconnected, withdrawn or \u201cshut down.\u201d This response has its own logic \u2014 logic influenced by the experiences of harm that have come before, or even the expectation of further harm to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma-informed care <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At The Bowery Mission, trauma-informed care starts with simply understanding <\/em>that our guests have experienced a high degree of trauma and traumatic events. We want to acknowledge the impact of these experiences, respond with sensitivity and compassion and be a place where anyone in crisis can regain a sense of confidence and security in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because we know that our guests may be coming from unstable or unsafe environments, we go to great lengths to create spaces that are calm, safe and predictable. Even when choosing materials and colors for our physical spaces, we make choices based on what would be most soothing and comfortable for our guests. Across its campuses, The Bowery Mission has incorporated principles of trauma-informed design to promote healing and alleviate feelings of tension and stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Trauma-informed<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Trauma-informed<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At The Bowery Mission’s overnight shelter, we were delighted to finish a full renovation of our community dining room in partnership with RGI Home. New furnishings, lighting, flooring and wall coverings make the space even more inviting and hospitable for our guests. See more from our Tribeca Campus:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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