The stress of family homelessness is often compounded by past traumatic experiences such as physical and sexual abuse, community violence, abrupt family separations, catastrophic illness and combat experiences. In fact, findings revealed that over 90 percent of the families that enter our programs have witnessed domestic violence or have experienced emotional abuse. Safe Haven Family Shelter uses a trauma-informed care approach in engaging clients which acknowledges the role the trauma has played in their lives and allows us to provide support and services that avoid re-traumatization. We work collaboratively with our clients and other community agencies in a manner that empowers the families to achieve lasting self-sufficiency. Our therapeutic program approach includes: trauma-informed care, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and short-term counseling.
Trauma Informed Care: Trauma Informed Care is an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. Trauma Informed Care also emphasizes physical, psychological and emotional safety for both clients and staff, and helps survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): PCIT is a therapeutic intervention that involves both the parent and the child together. It is designed to strengthen the bond that already exists between the two and to equip the parent with additional skills in how to respond to their child’s problematic behavior. PCIT is an evidenced-based intervention (i.e. research shows that it works) that is designed for young traumatized children ages 2-7 and their parents. By focusing on the reinforcement of positive behaviors and ignoring most negative behaviors, the goal of PCIT is to decrease behaviors such as hitting, throwing temper tantrums, or disobeying the parents over time. Also, by giving the child one-on-one therapeutic time with the parent, it fosters a sense of safety and security for the child. Read more about PCIT at Safe Haven here.