Ending Youth Homelessness by Addressing Trauma: Report of the study session held by FEANTSA Youth
in cooperation with the
European Youth Centre of the Council of Europe
You can read here the report summarising the study session "Ending Youth Homelessness by Addressing Trauma", which took place between the 16th and the 20th of October 2023 in Budapest. This activity was jointly organised by FEANTSA Youth and the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, which hosted participants in its centre of Budapest. A total of 34 participants could benefits from this learning opportunity that brought young workers from across Europe together.
Homelessness, especially when associated with trauma, is both a violation of fundamental human rights and an obstacle to realising them. By helping professionals adopt a trauma-informed approach, the young people they support would likely be in a better place to exercise and enforce their human rights.
The objectives and programme of the study session were therefore in line with these considerations. Activities covered the adoption of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) methodology from different angles, including defensive behaviours resulting from trauma, the foundations of TIC, a practical example of its application in Budapest, adapting TIC with an intersectional lens, staff well-being, etc. After the training week, it was possible to draft some conclusions, such as a strong need to increase the availability of resources on TIC for staff, the importance of empathy between workers and the youth they support, adapting services with an intersectional approach, and the current lack of enough attention to staff well-being, which is vital for an organisation to be trauma-informed.
