Social Work with the Traumatized Homeless

Complex Trauma Experiences and Homelessness

When examining trauma and its impact in a homeless circumstance, multiple traumas are viewed as among the greatest risk factors or antecedents associated with becoming homeless. Life events such as the death of a family member or loved one, rape, community violence, vicarious trauma, childhood physical, mental and/or sexual abuse, domestic violence, war and conflict, trauma related to substance abuse, life-altering physical injuries or health conditions, long-term job loss, loss of housing, and various other life events serve as complex narratives for many with a homeless experience. These difficult life events can foster complex trauma reactions, particularly for those experiencing homelessness. This in turn can significantly hinder an individual's ability to adapt to normal life stressors, or engage in developmentally appropriate decision making and actions that serve as protective mechanisms when faced with adversity. This is not to say that people who experience homelessness cannot be resilient, and many are able to reconstruct their lives and achieve eventual stability in housing, relationships, employment, and so on. It does suggest, however, that being in a homeless circumstance can affect one's capacity to manage trauma responses and can further disconnect the individual from functional coping capacities that promote stability and psychological recovery from traumatic events.

Conceptually, complex trauma refers to trauma caused by others and beyond the control of the affected individual. The individual has multiple exposures to multiple types of trauma and often experiences immediate negative and long-term effects of the traumatic event(s). It can foster insecurity, instability, and emotional disequilibrium, particularly in those who are vulnerable to poor coping responses in stressful situations or who lack developmental competence to successfully master stressors in one's environment. The multiple exposures to traumatic events complicate one's ability to exert positive coping responses and promote conservation of internal and external resources that counter the risk of lifelong problems associated with the multiple traumas.

...