Trauma is a physical, sexual or emotional injury so severe that it changes your fundamental reality, your ability to trust people and the way you see the world.
Starting from a rights-based approach, it is crucial to understand how homelessness can be a traumatic experience in itself. Loss of housing and home is a highly stressful event that increases the likelihood of violence and abuse (47% of homeless people have experienced a hate incident or crime). In addition, traumatic experiences in childhood can lead to homelessness in adulthood, negatively impacting mental health, with high levels of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
Youth homelessness in Spain, a growing reality
Young people spend 84% of their net salary on rent, emancipating 3.5 years later than the rest of Europeans. Only 16% of young people emancipated in the second half of 2022 and, in parallel, 15% more than the European average are forced to live with their parents. In addition, 1 in 5 people under 29 years of age is at risk of poverty and exclusion. Precariousness and difficult access to housing are partly responsible for the increase in the number of young people who are forced to live on the street: more than 6,000 young people are in this situation, 36% more than 10 years ago, according to the INE. Youth homelessness represents 23% in men and 16% in women of the total number of homeless people in Spain.
"For many of the young people involved in H4Y FUTURE, it's not just about losing their home, but about being thrown out of the system by the institution that has protected them until they came of age. While many of the young people celebrate their transition to the age of majority with joy, the young people under guardianship live with deep anguish the arrival of their 18th birthday, as this can mean facing a situation of homelessness" explains Maite Luque, project coordinator. Added to the lack of knowledge of resources or lack of social support can aggravate the traumatic situation.
Recognize the importance of addressing trauma for good community living.
Brain development in childhood is profoundly influenced by early relationships. Abuse and neglect have a lasting impact, creating what is known as "latent vulnerability". This means that children who have experienced hardship and/or violence are at greater risk for mental health problems later in life, as they find it more difficult to cope with everyday situations and build strong relationships. Through effective approaches to intervention with these individuals that promote understanding the source of attitudes, recovery can be helped to counteract social thinning and build healthy and stable attachments. Recognizing the consequences of trauma is crucial to better reassess their needs and reduce retraumatization processes.
Trauma has a profound effect on the relationships of people who suffer from it, and those who are also homeless experience even greater difficulty in functioning in everyday life and in forming strong attachments. This increases the likelihood of further traumatic experiences, which further aggravates their situation. Deinstitutionalization, i.e., fostering a community-based, personalized model of care, where people can choose where they live, and do so integrated into their community, is a critical step in regaining control over their lives.
The commitment to a change in youth homelessness policies must be a necessary step led by public administrations. In this sense, it must go hand in hand with an increase in accompaniment adapted to the evolutionary moment of the young people and, without a doubt, it must incorporate the trauma approach. On the other hand, professionals working directly with homeless youth must implement tools that make them abandon a paternalistic and, therefore, institutionalizing intervention.
At H4Y FUTURO we are committed to improving the quality of life of young people experiencing homelessness. Recognizing the importance of understanding trauma and its effects, we work to offer innovative and effective solutions that allow them to regain autonomy and reintegrate into the community.
