Since it's founding in 1997, the CYC-Net discussion group has been asked thousands of questions. These questions often generate many replies from people in all spheres of the Child and Youth Care profession and contain personal experiences, viewpoints, as well as recommended resources.
Below are some of the threads of discussions on varying Child and Youth Care related topics.
Questions and Responses have been reproduced verbatim.
Listen to thisI live in Canada and I am very interested in
how the issue of child and youth homelessness is being approached in
other countries.
Thanks.
Dawne Kalenuik
...
Hi Dawne,
Your interest is quite essential for me as a youth
care giver, so I think it may be of help to let you know that groups of
students at Humber College are organising an event on this topic in
their community development project. This is solely based on their
findings, so they may have information relevant for your inquiries. I
wish you good luck and hope this helps.
Olu Komolafe
…
In my country it’s the NGO'S which take a leading role in this aspect.
Mosilimakalo
...
Hi everyone,
My name is Braden Freeman and I work at a homeless shelter in Calgary,
Canada. It is very surprising to me how people view homelessness in the
city. I think most people, including people in uniform, look down on
this population and see them as a detriment to society. I think it is
important to remember that society creates homelessness, giving society
the responsibility to deal with this issue.
I deal with many different people who are homeless. I see young people,
older people, war veterans and a variety of people from different
cultural backgrounds. Looking at young people, I would say that from
their birth they were destined to be homeless. For example, when an
Aboriginal child comes into being, he is often brought into a family
with trauma. The trauma of which I speak is related to residential
schools and the unfortunate past relations between Europeans and the
Native people. Thus, the child develops an association with suffering
from an early age, and in some cases the parents financial issues force
these children onto the streets before they are given a fair shot at
life.
I think it is important for both social workers and Child and Youth Care
counsellors to recognize that people's past experiences shape who they
are. People are therefore doomed to act out the past in a mechanical
pattern. Until people become aware of their past and their negative
patterns of behaviour, they will not be able to move beyond suffering.
Counsellors should give people the space they need to deal with the
hurt, avoiding any suggestions on fixing the problems. I think awareness
is the key and the end goal. In awareness the behaviours will disappear
of their own accord.
Braden Freeman
...
Hi Brendan,
Thank you for your compassionate post. It is true that there are many
factors that lead to homelessness and that trauma is often an underlying
factor. I formerly taught counseling at risk youth at our local college
and worked with a local shelter to raise funds. It always surprises me
how much stigma that there was towards the homeless as well as how
little compassion there was in comparison to other organizations I have
done work with such as domestic violence shelters. I think people often
misinterpret that these youth are bad kids / just misbehaving, that
they're lazy, oppositional and choosing to be where they are, that it's
undesirable or dangerous work because poor hygiene, blurred boundaries,
or drugs and alcohol may be involved. I have worked with homelessness at
both the youth level as well as an adult level and what I know is
beneath this tough exterior that often develops over time is often an
individual who is seeking someone to care for them, to look at them with
compassion and kindness, to see that they are a human being who is
suffering and scared.
In addition to factors such as intrauterine trauma and stress (alcohol
use during pregnancy, birth / pregnancy complications, domestic violence
etc.), traumas occurring in early life during crucial periods of brain
development, and traumas occurring later in life we also need to keep in
mind intergenerational trauma as such is what you are referring to with
the residential schools. Not only do these experiences impact our
perception of others and the world around us and the ability of our
caregivers to provide love and care (who are typically doing the best
that they can with what they know and have been given) but it also
impacts at a genetic level altering our body and brain's chemistry
setting it for fear and survival more so than safety and love. It's
essential to know that even when looking at Brett studies with moms who
come from trauma/stressful environments these wrapups have adaptive
skills for survival – although the moms are less nurturing and loving
towards them, they do prepare them for survival in the world as they
know it. Rather than focusing on love and comfort they focus on
awareness and heightened ability to navigate threats. Often this is
something we see within human families as well where parents not provide
as much love and nurture because they don't typically know how to do
this themselves have not received it as a child.
At the core of homelessness in addition to the trauma is an attachment
trauma. When someone is homeless it is because there has been a
disruption to their relationships (for various reasons) regardless this
is a form of attachment trauma. Also this does not tend to have its
onset in teen years but rather often begins in infancy. This is where we
learn to self regulate through the care of our caregivers, where we
learn that the world is a safe place and that our needs are met, where
we learn we can rely on others to meet our needs, or we learn a reality
that is starkly different from this. Attachment is so crucial, 5/6th of
our brain development within the first year of life is attachment
driven.
Although there may be children and youth who have a higher
predisposition to homelessness based on their environments there are
things that we can do as preventative factors to promote resiliency.
Most models focus on the same things as being crucial for resiliency –
relationships, self-regulation skills, and skills building in these
children are essential for future success. We need to find out what
they're good at and help them build skills, we need to help some form
relationships (attachment is a basic human need) this allows that they
feel seen, heard, that they exist and that they matter. The ARC model is
a fantastic resource for helping with this.
There's actually a new book out which focuses putting their framework
into action with a wide variety of worksheets and resources that focus
on building attachment, self-regulation, and competency. You can learn
more about this book via this link:
http://m.indigo.ca/product/books/treating-traumatic-stress-in-children/9781606236253?ikwid=attachment%20self%20regulation&ikwsec=Home
or on the Trauma Centre at JRI's website. The book Ghosts from the
Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence is also an excellent resource
http://m.indigo.ca/product/books/ghosts-from-the-nursery-tracing/9780871137340?ikwid=ghosts%20from%20the%20nursary&ikwsec=Home.
Thank you for the work you are doing to heal the hearts of those you
work with.
Lori Gill
...
Thank you for the replies. I always appreciate a good discussion because
I believe we can all learn something from others.Your personal stories
and insights are much appreciated.
Braden Freeman
