TRAUMA
SECURE ENVIRONMENTS
REACH is a multi-agency Housing First project in Scarborough which aims to support people with complex needs to access housing and facilitate change towards recovery – as defined by the person .
Multi-agency working is at the heart of the project , with a team comprising mental health nurses , support officers from both a social landlord and the local authority , and myself – a domestic abuse practitioner . REACH also benefits from the support and guidance of a consultant clinical psychologist , two days a week . By bringing together diverse experience and expertise from a range of professionals , it aims to provide holistic person-centred care to aid recovery .
The project is specifically designed to work with , and provide comprehensive support for , those who have experienced high levels of multiple disadvantages . This means working with a complex interplay of drug and alcohol issues , mental illness , criminality and complex trauma presentations .
As a domestic abuse practitioner , I work with those who have experience of domestic abuse , which is almost always a factor in the lives of our clients . Often clients have experienced domestic violence across their lifespans – from witnessing it in childhood to their own intimate relationships . Due to the complex and traumatised attachments people have
People with experience of trauma will often look for security in the wrong places . It means that complex problems need genuinely holistic solutions , says Emma Locker
experienced , victim-perpetrator dynamics are common , and therefore my role is unusual in domestic abuse services . Work with victims and perpetrators is usually strictly separated . However , in my own experience of working with those who are homeless , with co-existing conditions and needs , these areas are closely linked – with people perpetrating abuse within their relationships , and also finding themselves victims of their partner ’ s abuse .
Homelessness tends to throw people together through necessity , sparking relationships where both parties are often heavily under the influence of substances , and creating situations where each plays out the modelled relationship patterns they ’ ve been exposed to in their own childhood environments .
Invariably these early traumatising environments are described to me as chaotic , unstable , and insecure – frightening places filled with abuse and neglect . Those with intense experiences of loss , abandonment , and relational trauma can find themselves looking to their partner to fulfil all their emotional needs . But when their partner is unable to provide this , emotions can run high , and – with the disinhibiting effects of alcohol and substances – things can escalate quickly .
What ’ s been of interest is that often there ’ s no recollection of events the next day , due to the high levels of intoxication . This can sometimes lead to a process of minimising the serious nature of what ’ s occurred , while at other times it can be experienced as frightening or shameful – leading to further substance use to cope . Relationships are often made and broken within weeks or days , and are frequently experienced intensely due to the shared historic experiences of trauma and the need to feel intimacy and connection . So relationships that are craved through the hope of an elusive feeling of care and stability can actually cause further harm .
Homelessness is , of course , a stressful situation for anyone , and this can significantly add to relationship difficulties , further exacerbated by the distrustfulness involved in communal drug use . Limited resources can lead to suspicion , paranoia and altercations that may not be perceived by either party as domestic abuse , but are commonly controlling and coercive in nature .
People ’ s own internalised beliefs about gender can also be a barrier to recognising themselves as victims of abuse , especially with more subtle forms such as coercion and control . Some men can be reluctant to acknowledge the extent to which their female partner ’ s controlling behaviour impacts their own wellbeing , or how coercion can negate free will .
Overall , the work in this field is both challenging and rewarding – working with a demographic often ignored by society , but who are nonetheless interesting , warm , and funny individuals who have each come to homelessness via unique but all too similar pathways . These invariably involve drug and alcohol use that began as a means of coping and escapism , but became a source of its own trauma along the way . The wins are amazing – seeing someone who has been street homeless for ten or more years settled into a property and building more secure and respectful relationships is a wonderful feeling . The way the REACH team works in the Scarborough locality is a radical approach . It takes the onus off the individual to make changes to attain a home , and instead provides the home and the appropriate support to overcome challenges .
The wins are amazing – seeing someone who has been street homeless for ten or more years settled ... is a wonderful feeling .
It ’ s this that makes my role so fulfilling – knowing we ’ re tackling things from a personcentred , trauma informed care perspective , and in ways that have the power to heal and change lives .
Emma Locker is a domestic abuse practitioner at IDAS Scarborough and Ryedale
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