Study Highlights Link Between Homelessness, Trauma
Mothers and children currently account for a higher percentage of the nation’s homeless population than at any time since the Great Depression. According to a study released last week — which focused partly on the Capital Region — these families overwhelmingly share one pervasive link: homeless mothers having been physically or sexually abused. According to the study, trauma from the attacks is the largest contributing factor to residential instability — not education, unemployment or depression.
The study, authored by the Wilson Foundation, a Rochester-based nonprofit, concluded that a staggering 93 percent of homeless mothers in their sample group -— which included families in shelters and supportive housing in Albany, Troy and Schenectady — were victims of what was defined as a severely traumatic event, mainly some form of violent attack.