Trauma-Informed Services for
Homeless Students: How our
Community is Reaching out and
Changing Lives
Jean West MSW LCSW CTC-S
School Social Worker Saint Joseph School District Missouri
Trauma
Any experience that leaves a person feeling
hopeless, helpless, fearing for their
life/survival, their safety.
Important to remember –
it is a person’s perception, their experience
not ours that makes something traumatic.
Divorce may be more traumatizing
than suicide or incarceration.
What Can Lead to Trauma
 What experiences could someone go through that
could possibly be traumatizing?
Experiences which can cause
trauma
 Physical and/or sexual abuse
 Domestic violence
 Living with substance abusing parents
 Witnessing parental homicide
 Homelessness
 Burns/other serious accidents
 Car fatalities
 Divorce
 Natural disasters
The Themes of Trauma
 Safety/Lack of safety
 Worry
 Hurt
 Fear
 Anger/Revenge
 Victim Thinking
 Loss of Future Orientation/Helplessness/Hopelessness
Trauma…
 Trauma means being “stuck” in the
experience, unable to successfully
face the emotional pain, cope with it,
and go on with normal life
Trauma is…
 What has
 NOT what is
happened to
you?
wrong with
you!
How does Trauma Impact
Behavior?
Traumas Effect on Behavior
 Hypervigilance
 Depression
 Difficulty sleeping
 Attention problems
 Easily startled
 Impulsivity
 Clinging
 Aggression
 Nightmares
 Fearful
 Disobedience
 Risk taking
 Impaired social skills
 Panic attacks
 Anger /rage
 Hypersensitive to touch,
 Can’t self sooth or modulate
emotions
movement, some sounds and
smells
How does Trauma Impact
Learning?
Traumas Effect on Learning
 In the arousal (anxious) state it becomes difficult to process
information, follow directions, recall information, and focus
 Physician’s office
 Poor problem solving, attention, disorganized
 Often only hear half of the words spoken by their teachers
 Cognitively will generally be far behind their peers, children
can often learn at three times the rate compared to when
engulfed in trying to survive
The Role of the Brain and the
Nervous System
How would you describe the taste
of Apple Pie ?
Trauma-Informed Care
 Trauma-informed care is an approach to engaging
people with histories of trauma that recognizes the
presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the
role that trauma has played in their lives. The National
Center for Trauma Informed Care 2012
Becoming Trauma Informed
cont…
 Becoming trauma-informed is a process
that involves striving towards a new way
of understanding people and providing
services and supports. This process
involves a gradual integration of trauma
concepts and trauma sensitive responses
into daily practice.
Becoming Trauma Informed
 Understanding Trauma and Its Impact:
Understanding traumatic stress and how it impacts
people and recognizing that many behaviors and
responses that maybe seem ineffective and
unhealthy in the present, represent adaptive
responses to past traumatic experiences.
Do we do this?
Trauma and Homelessness
 “Trauma- physical, sexual, and emotional –is both a
cause and a consequence of homelessness.” HCH 1999
Impact of Homelessness on
Children
 Every day, homeless children are confronted with
stressful, often traumatic events.
 74% of homeless children worry they will have no place
to live.
 58% worry they will have no place to sleep.
 87% worry that something bad will happen to their
family. (Impact on education, trauma) National Center on
Family Homelessness 1999
Mental Health
 The constant barrage of stressful and traumatic
experiences has profound effects on the cognitive and
emotional development of homeless children.
 Homeless babies are four times more likely to show
delayed development then non-homeless babies.
 Homeless children between 6 and 17 years struggle
with very high rates of mental health problems. The
National Center on Family Homelessness 2010
Teens
 Homeless youth exhibit psychiatric disorders at a rate
six times greater than the general youth population,
with between 66 and 89 percent of homeless youth
having symptoms of one or more disorders. Whitbeck,
2009
Subgroups even more at risk
 Within the homeless youth population there are certain
sub-groups who are the most at risk for developing a
mental illness.
 Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender youth appear
to have the most pervasive mental health problems.
 Youth who have been in state care
 Youth who have histories of abuse. Whitbeck, 2009
The Emotional Impact
 More then one-fifth of homeless preschoolers have
emotional problems serious enough to require professional
care, but less then one-third receive any treatment.
 Homeless children have twice the rate of learning disabilities
and three times the rate of emotional and behavioral
problems as nonhomeless children.
 Half of school-age homeless children experience anxiety,
depression, or withdrawal compared to 18% of nonhomeless
children.
 By the time homeless children are eight years old, one in
three has a major mental disorder. NCTSN 2005
Homeless Mothers
Violence
 The frequency of violence in the lives of homeless mothers
is staggering.
 63% have been violently abused by an intimate male
partner.
 27% have required medical treatment because of violence
by an intimate male partner.
 25% have been physically or sexually assaulted during
adulthood by someone other than an intimate partner.
 66% were violently abused by a childhood caretaker or
other adult in the household before reaching 18.
 43% were sexually molested as children. NCTSN 2005
Trauma and Homelessness
Cont…
Homelessness results in a loss of community, routines,
possessions, privacy, and security.
 According to The National Traumatic Stress Network, more than
90% of sheltered and low-income mothers have experienced
physical and sexual assault over their lifespan.
 The experience of homelessness puts families in situations where
they are at greater risk of additional traumatic experiences such as
assault, witnessing violence, or abrupt separation.
 The stresses associated with homelessness can exacerbate other
trauma-related difficulties and interfere with recovery due to
ongoing traumatic reminders and challenges. NCTSN 2005
Trauma and Homelessness
Cont…
 Trauma is THE predominant mental health issue for
homeless mothers.
 Research confirms that the strongest predictor of
emotional and behavioral problems in poor and
homeless children is their mother’s level of emotional
distress. HCH 2003 (resiliency research with TLC)
 Emotional help is needed for both the parents and their
children in order to be most effective.
SITCAP
 The National Institute for Trauma and
Loss in Children
 www.starrtraining.org/tlc
Sensory Based
 8 week programs
 What Color is your Hurt?
 TIP Trauma Intervention Program
 Certification Process
Draw me a Picture…
8 year old female
Data
 97% of the students participating in the SITCAP
program showed a reduction in each subcategory of
PTSD symptoms upon completion of the program.
 Re-experiencing
 Avoidance
 Arousal
Hurt/Anger – Tear a Shape
Importance in Assessment
Process
 Programs serving families who are experiencing
homelessness have an opportunity to address
children’s needs and connect them to appropriate
services. To meet children’s needs, questions about
their exposure to trauma must be included in the intake
assessment.
• ResearchBased Practices
Workgroup
• Funding
• Trainings
• Sustainability
• Over 20 CTS
• Mentoring
McKinney Vento
program
School
Counselors/Social
Workers
COH
TLC
•
•
•
•
Certification
Website
Trainings
On-line courses
McKinney-Vento
SITCAP Workgroup
Community Agencies
TLC
COH
SJSD
Couns/SW
SJSD
Mentoring
On-going
Training
Parent
Trainings
Programs
Shelter Trainings
Staff
SITCAP
Groups
Individual work
Resources

Cowan, Beryl Ann, "Trauma exposure and behavioral outcomes in sheltered homeless children: The moderating role of perceived
social support" (2007). Psychology Dissertations. Paper 39. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/psych_diss/39

HCH Health Care for the homeless Clinician’s network. Trauma and Homelessness.(1999) Vol.3, No.3

HCH Health Care for the homeless clinician’s network. Homelessness and family trauma: The Case for early intervention. (2003) Vol.
7, No. 2

NCTIC The National Center for Trauma Informed Care NCTIC@NASMHPD.org

NCTSN The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Facts on Trauma and homeless children. (2005)

Les Whitbeck, Mental Health and Emerging Adulthood Among Homeless Young People (New York: Psychology Press, 2009) 54, 75.

The National Center on Family Homelessness 1999 www.familyhomelessness.org

www.nhchc.org/ShelterHealth/ToolKitA/A2HomelessChildren.pdf
www.NCTSNet.org
jean.west@sjsd.k12.mo.us