Alex Riley, LPC and Kelly Sachter, LCSW Family Connections, Inc.

Family Connections Inc. HomeSafe Program FAMILYConnections’ Mission is to engender hope, enhance safety, heal trauma, and strengthen families and communities through innovative counseling, skills-building, training, and prevention. The HomeSafe Program began in 2014 to provide supportive housing to families that are involved with DCP&P, in which the parent has a co-occuring diagnosis and history of homelessness Staffing: Clinical Coordination, Parent Advocate, Housing Case Managers Utilizes individual/family counseling, group, case management Dependent on collaboration with DCPP and other providers

HomeSafe Program Model Based on NYC model of Keeping Families Together: 2007 by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) Department of Children and Families pilot partnering with Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Technical assistance and support from the CSH as well as Mental Health Association of Essex Combines housing vouchers with comprehensive, evidence based trauma informed therapeutic and concrete supports The goal is for families to be safely, healthfully and permanency reunified/stabilized in their own homes

Intergenerational Trauma in child welfare Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being. 90% of children in foster care have experienced trauma Foster children are twice as likely as war veterans to develop post- traumatic stress disorder. Complex trauma: exposure to multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature, and the wide-ranging, long- term impact of this exposure. Could include maltreatment, including psychological maltreatment, neglect, exposure to violence and physical and sexual abuse. Coping skills are compromised, which affects ability to parent, have a stable home, and address their own needs.

Activity

Benefits and Progress 10 families are enrolled, 9 families in Essex County are residing in stable housing 10 families are receiving supportive services: therapy, parenting group, linkage to substance abuse/mental health services, case management, addressing their children’s needs

Challenges ASFA timeline and highest risk families Maintaining contact with clients Finding developers or realtors who will overlook negative background checks: criminal history, credit history, previous evictions General household needs

Lessons Learned and Future Goals Learned how to navigate housing process, building relationships with landlords The benefits of finding housing with utilities included The need for consistent, ongoing teaming and collaboration with DCP&P, substance abuse programs, mental health services, etc. Future Goals in Progress: There is more need for this pilot throughout the system More start up funding needed for families: talk to local businesses, national businesses

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost…I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place. But, it isn’t my fault. It still takes me a long time to get out. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. I walk down another street.

Resources The Annie E. Casey Foundation Blaustein, Margaret E. and Kinniburgh, Kristine M. “Treating Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents: How to Foster Resilience through Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency” The Guilford Press 2010 Bloom, Sandra L. MD. The Sanctuary Model Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACE Study Corporation for Supportive Housing Farrell, A. F., Britner, P.A., Guzzardo, M., Goodrich, S. (2010). Supportive housing for families in child welfare: Client characteristics and their outcomes at discharge. Children and Youth Servcies Review, 32, Randall, Kellie G.(2012) Supportive Housing for Families in Child Welfare: Client Characteristics and Risk Factors at Intake. University of Connecticut, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)’s National Center for Trauma Informed Care Swann-Jackson, Rebecca; Tapper, Donna; Fields, Allison (2010) Keeping Families Together: An evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of a pilot supportive housing program for families involved in the child welfare system. Metis Associates, Retrieved from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network “Building a safe home” exercise, adapted from