Homelessness and trauma must be tackled by the Government and professionals in tandem, says charity

Homeless charity Oasis Community Housing has said that the Government will fail in its mission to end homelessness if it does not tackle its association with trauma.

Research published in September by Northumbria University showed that half of the people facing homelessness have experienced five or more traumas, for instance, sexual or domestic abuse, violence, bereavement, or war.

Trauma and homelessness: what can practitioners do to recognise the association?

The study found that, unsurprisingly, traumatic experiences increase the risk for mental ill-health and substance misuse issues, in addition to homelessness. It was revealed that undressed trauma heavily impacted the quality of life of individuals through the inability to maintain households and attend appointments, feeding into the individual’s likelihood of homelessness.

In particular, the research identified individuals who had experienced multiple traumatic events or ‘complex trauma’ as the most at risk.

The key learning points from the research include the following:

• Trauma is routinely a precursor to homelessness, but it is also a potential source of trauma. Therefore, the authors wrote it is futile to respond to the issue of homelessness without tackling the pre-existing and resulting traumas.
• Psychologically- and trauma-informed approaches to care are critical to service user engagement and should be implemented across multiple services.

In tackling these issues, the research recommended that the Government fund trauma-informed training for all staff working in homelessness and support services, local authorities commit to only commissioning trauma-informed and person-centred services, and there should be a cross-departmental focus on homelessness prevention and interventions, such as in the form of early mental health and substance misuse support.

Specifically concerning practitioners, the research authors recommended that work be undertaken to increase knowledge amongst professionals of the National Institute for Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on coexisting mental illness and substance misuse.

The practice-focused NICE guidelines cover how to improve services for people who have been diagnosed with severe mental illnesses and substance misuse issues. The document aims to take a holistic, integrated approach to services that address people’s broader social care needs and coordinate services to solve other related challenges, such as employment and housing.

Establishing trauma-informed care as best practice to drive real change in ensuring trauma is recognised as part of people’s pathway to homelessness

David Smith, Oasis Community Housing CEO, said:

“Frontline staff working in homelessness?services must have trauma-informed training to offer appropriate support, as well as helping to?protect themselves from vicarious trauma […] “A national trauma-informed training programme, delivered by Government, would save lives as?well as taxpayer’s pounds.”

The new Northumbria University research was launched at a Parliamentary event hosted by APPG for Ending Homelessness Vice Chair The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms and supported by?Homeless Link . The launch was attended by almost 50 Parliamentarians, sector partners and other homelessness and trauma experts this week.

Dr Harding of Northumbria University, who co-authored the research, said:

“The impact of trauma has been an increasingly important theme in homelessness research in recent years, and there is a growing realisation that, for the majority of people for whom homeless is a longer-term issue, trauma is always there in the background of their lives, whether that is from childhood, adolescence, as an adult, or throughout their whole lives.”

The research provided evidence that specialist and trauma-informed support can address the mental and social drives behind homelessness. However, almost half of the people surveyed had not been able?to access specialist help for their trauma, and some reported only being ‘taken seriously’ after?reaching a crisis point.

Northumbria University researcher, Dr Irving, added:

“One important finding which came out of the research is the value of a trauma-informed approach to service delivery which is mindful of the traumatic experiences someone has gone through.”

“This isn’t about creating new services. There are already housing, mental health, and substance misuse services available. However, we need to ask why some individuals are unable to access or engage with those services and why some are returning to those services again and again. But a trauma-informed approach may be key to making it easier for those who need support to access those services.”