Housing the Unhoused: One Size Does Not Fit All

When we look at housing as a solution for homelessness, we simply cannot apply the traditional housing model and expect people with numerous barriers to thrive. At HomeAid, we take a thoughtful approach to designing and building housing and
resource centers that will create spaces for healing and hope. The type of re-routing that occurs when someone is either mitigating or exiting homelessness is profound and unearths years, sometimes decades of trauma.

I remember a conversation I had at SAMMinistries in San Antonio, Texas last year. We were touring their different types of housing and learning about their client's needs, and our tour guide told a story about a client, who could represent any
number of clients they have served. She said that when this client first moved into their own apartment, they hardly ever stepped foot outside. For this man, the relationship he had with housing was punitive and institutional. Four walls felt like a
way to isolate him from the outside world. The woman told us about the rehabilitation that often takes place with clients rewriting their relationship with the concept of home. This is a relationship many of us take for granted because we
have likely had a positive relationship with four walls. My fondest family memories have happened either in nature or at home, and a home is a place where I feel safe, where I belong, and shelters me from the elements.

But when people have learned to cope in the outdoors for survival or have had past trauma tied to being in a shelter, prison, or home, there is a tear in the fabric of that relationship. Trauma-informed design can be as simple as integrating natural light and soothing paint colors. I have seen plywood used instead of drywall to withstand impact when residents' trauma rears its head. We walk the line of dignity and utility with our projects. I am proud of the work our builders and trade partners create because each project reflects our love for our neighbors, creates ease of maintenance for the service provider, and elevates the work being done to empower clients to achieve stability and pave a new path forward in life.

Traditional housing or communities will not solve homelessness for most people. Organizations that provide enough rigidity and empathy in their community rules for residents to succeed while also feeling grace as they regress, is the balance necessary to tend to a person's individual needs. The support our agency partners provide their clients is transformative, and it is an honor for HomeAid to play a pivotal role in bringing projects along the continuum of care to life for those who need it most.