Homelessness, Children and Families: What You Should Know and How You Can Help

The statistics on homelessness in the United States are astounding. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) (2011), more than 1.3 million children are homeless at some time each year and on the average day, at least 800,000 Americans, including 200,000 children are without a home. These individuals have also encountered trauma before becoming homeless and homelessness itself can exacerbate or re-traumatize children and adults. Ultimately, it is an experience that has powerful effects not only on individuals and families, but also on our neighborhoods and communities.

Homelessness affects individuals of all ages and in all areas of the US; it disproportionately affects people of color and single parent families, but it also impacts people of all ethnicities. For children, the loss of a stable home environment may include loss of pets and possessions, previous routines, school changes, and lack of privacy, compounding the stress related to homelessness. There can be additional stresses too, including abrupt separation, interpersonal or domestic violence, or illness that add to emotional challenges and risk for increased trauma reactions. Children may experience higher incidence of ear infections, asthma attacks and stomach problems; may develop learning and cognitive difficulties; and may have emotional problems that require professional intervention, but frequently go without recognition or treatment. According to NCTSN, by the time homeless children are 8 years old, one in three has a major emotional disorder. Additionally, trauma-related symptoms make recovery more difficult for these youngsters.

A recent episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes addresses how children are impacted by sudden homelessness in the U.S. and highlights the unique challenges children and families face when displaced from home and familiar routines. If you missed this compelling episode, take a few minutes to watch it and hear firsthand accounts from children who are confronting the realities of homelessness in their daily lives:

So what can we do to help homeless children and families? Here are just a few evidence-based, trauma-informed, and resilience-focused practices:

• Work to ensure that children and families are not re-traumatized after entering a shelter or program;
• Respond in trauma-informed ways to support resilience and empower individuals;
• Provide safe and non-threatening environments that maximize choice and control for individuals;
• Model positive behavior, maintain clear boundaries, allow participants to make decisions and share power, and respond with cultural sensitivity;
• Help children and adults learn skills to self-regulate and reduce trauma reactions;
• Provide support for both emotional and physical health, adaptive coping, and culturally appropriate services that address trauma and the experience of homelessness;
• Above all, help children and families become survivors and eventual “thrivers” who are capable and empowered to overcome challenges and move forward with hope and dignity.

Be well,

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT

Reference

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2011). Facts on Homeless and Children. Retrieved on June 28, 2011 at http://www.nctsn.org.

Additional Recommended Resources:

National Coalition for the Homeless, www.nationalhomeless.org

Urban Institute, www.urban.org

National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, www.nlchp.org/

Children’s Defense Fund, www.childrensdefense.org

National Alliance to End Homelessness, www.naeh.org

National Health Care for the Homeless Council , www.nhchc.org

Do You Have “Compassion Fatigue?”

If you are a trauma specialist, you may have heard the terms “compassion fatigue,” “secondary posttraumatic stress” and “vicarious victimization.” Most commonly, practitioners speak of “burnout” and the majority who work with traumatized individuals have experienced one or all of these conditions from time to time.

Compassion fatigue has many faces, but these are some of the more common symptoms in mental health and healthcare professionals:

* Sadness and lack of pleasure in activities that were previously enjoyable

* Emotional and physical exhaustion

* Emotional outbursts

* Unresolved anger and conflicts

* Chronic ailments such as recurrent colds, stomach problems, and headaches

* Preoccupation and difficulty in concentration

* Denial of emotional stress and blaming of others for distress

* Inability to express emotions in a productive manner

* Isolation from others

* Compulsive behaviors (overspending, overeating, and other addictive activities)

* Nightmares, sleep disruption, and intrusive memories of traumatic events

So what do you do when you realize that you may have or be at risk for compassion fatigue? Just how do you keep going when your job includes providing trauma intervention for children, adults, and families on a daily basis? If you do not attend to the symptoms in a timely way, those symptoms eventually refuse to be ignored and emotional crisis occurs.

There are several steps you can take to address compassion fatigue right now. The first step is to reach out to others, including colleagues, to share your feelings and obtain support and validation. The other step begins with you—take the time to build in self-care and personal resilience-enhancement. Join an exercise class, take up yoga or meditation, and focus on a healthy diet. Most of all be kind to yourself, accept that you are not perfect, set good boundaries for work-related activities, and express your needs to others.

Finally, enhance your ability to deal with compassion fatigue through education such as McHenry’s upcoming workshop. One of the most well researched ways of reducing secondary posttraumatic stress reactions is through education. So take the opportunity to increase your awareness through learning and listening to the opportunity to increase your awareness through learning and listening to the stories of other professionals struggling with compassion fatigue’s effects.

Be well,

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPAT, LPCC

Grief Resources from the National Institute for Trauma and Loss

For more than 20 years, the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children has been developing and providing resources on grief recovery. Decades ago visionary Dr. William Steele foresaw the need to help professionals understand the differences between grief reactions and trauma and how complicated grief is far different from acute grief responses. This seminal work along with TLC’s sensory-based approach to trauma intervention have been central to developing a trauma informed, sensory-based and evidence-based approach to work with children, adolescents, adults, and families.

I want to share some of the many resources you can find on the TLC website, but before I do, I want to highlight an important article by Dr. Steele. Time Magazine (January 24, 2011) recently devoted an issue to the “Tragedy in Tucson.” One of the articles (Good News About Grief) attempted to address the question, “Is grief counseling necessary?” While it is a well-written article with much good information, trauma specialists who deal with grief and loss issues in their work should take a few minutes to read Steele’s response here. Bill explains the grieving process, cultural differences, and resilience factors and dispels the need for interpretation and analysis of grief responses and critical incident debriefing [which can even be harmful]. Be sure to read this important article if you work with traumatized and/or grieving individuals.

Here are some of the many resources on grief and loss you can find through the National Institute for Trauma and Loss:

• Download PDFs about debriefing and the differences between grief and trauma reactions;
• Archived Trauma and Loss: Research and Interventions journal articles;
• Take an online course on adolescent grief, resilience and posttraumatic growth, or confronting death issues in schools.

And of course you can make plans to attend the Annual Practitioners Assembly in July 2011 to learn more about TLC’s approach to intervention and network with trauma specialists from around the country.

Be well,

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT

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