Fix Homelessness How to rebuild human lives
Topic

adverse childhood experiences

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cheerful boy play game or closeup of playing cards in kid hand indoor

A Fistful of ACEs

An ideological war about homelessness is raging. Many on the right say substance abuse and mental illness cause homelessness. Many on the left emphasize the cost of housing. Those factors are real, but while living among and interviewing 80 men and women who had suffered long-term homelessness in Missouri, California, and Colorado, I learned more about what both sides underestimate: the impact of ACEs (“adverse childhood experiences”). ACEs include physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and other experiences that undermine any sense of safety and stability. Five out of six young homeless adults have been physically abused. Many have been sexually abused. Most have been otherwise neglected. Most homeless adults hold in their hands at least four ACEs, as the November Read More ›

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poker cards chips

Adverse Childhood Experiences: The ACEs You Don’t Want to be Dealt

Last week I reviewed academic research regarding homelessness and foster care from this century’s first decade. Scholars debated the circumstances within which people develop executive function: planning ahead and giving up immediate rewards for long-term benefits. How do people on long losing streaks avoid “learning helplessness,” the fatalistic sense that, regardless of what we do right, everything goes wrong? The consensus developed during the second decade is that ACEs (“adverse childhood experiences”) go wild: ACEs such as suffering abuse or neglect, witnessing violence in the home or community, or having a family member attempt or die by suicide, undermine senses of safety and stability. Substance use and mental health problems also deal ACEs. Many U.S. adults experience at least one Read More ›

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little girl with paper family in hands. concept of divorce, custody and child abuse

How Adverse Childhood Experiences Turn into Homelessness

Would you rather be rich or loved? Many of us might want to be both, but Rob Henderson, author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class, understands what's most important: "For happiness, it's better to be poor and loved than rich and unloved." Read More ›