trauma

I’ve learned in my stays at homeless shelters one clear lesson: how hard it is to offer true help. Jeff Cook, chief program officer at Springs Rescue Mission (SRM), wrote this in his dissertation: “When reviewing the reason clients are homeless, it was apparent that they all had some traumatic experiences that caused them to be homeless. This trauma could have begun in many forms: the death of a parent or family member, the victim of a crime, human or drug trafficking, or the loss of a job due to illness.” Such stressful events shatter senses of security. They leave people feeling endangered by normal life, unstable even when placed in stable housing. A faith in Christ can be a Read More ›

As this century began, journalist Fred Barnes quoted four discouraging words found in some illustrious newspapers: “First of a series.” Journalist Mickey Kaus defined the typical newspaper series as a “bloated journalistic project driven by egos and internal institutional needs.” But one thing is even more discouraging than most newspaper series: a series of articles from academic journals. Nevertheless, here are some journal articles about the relationship between homelessness and foster care. One, by Heather Taussig in 2002 in Child Abuse and Neglect, had the scintillating title, “Risk behaviors in maltreated youth placed in foster care: A longitudinal study of protective and vulnerability factors.” Taussig noted that “for many maltreated children, the experience of trauma does not cease when they Read More ›