25 in 5 Hamilton

Head trauma help for homeless

Posted on March 25 2010 under Poverty in the Media

Head trauma help for homeless

Hamilton project seen as model


Denise Davy
The Hamilton Spectator
March 25, 2010

A pilot project designed to help homeless men who have suffered from a head trauma is being lauded as a model for other communities.

The federally funded project called Finding Home began in Hamilton in 2008 to test a mobile program for homeless men who had experienced a head trauma sometime in their lives.

Those who work with the homeless have long known that people often end up on the streets because of the combination of a lack of family support, substance abuse and mental illness.

But this program also addressed the issue of head trauma, which has been found to be extremely common among the homeless.

Terry Petrenchik, program evaluation director, said all but one of the 176 men in the program had suffered from at least one head trauma or head injury in their lives.

That trauma was usually caused by a motor vehicle accident or an assault, often during childhood.

Once the men became homeless, the risk of suffering an assault and subsequent head trauma was heightened.

In all cases, there was found to be some cognitive impairment from the trauma.

Petrenchik said suffering from head trauma, combined with other factors in the men's lives, created a "perfect storm" of events that led to them becoming chronically homeless and stuck in the system.

"We can't say it's just because of the head trauma that they became homeless," she said. "But the fact that they had a head trauma certainly heightened the risk to becoming homeless, combined with the other things."

Three social workers worked closely with the 176 Hamilton men over seven months, providing counselling and directing them to resources, including housing and social assistance.

Forty-nine men were seen at least every two weeks for intensive counselling and support. The others were seen either briefly or on a drop-in basis.

Petrenchik said the team took a multi-disciplinary approach to helping the men that included counselling, assessment, treatment for head trauma and support to rebuild their lives.

Several men now have permanent housing and are on social assistance, while others have been reunited with family members and found treatment for their substance abuse problems.

The study also noted a substantial decrease in the number of nights the men spent in shelters.

"We busted the myth that you can't engage this population," said Petrenchik, who is also assistant clinical professor in the school of rehabilitation science at McMaster University.

"There was always this thought that they didn't respond because they weren't motivated."

Gillian Hendry, director of social housing and homelessness for the city, said the profile that emerged of the homeless men was disturbing but also helpful in terms of providing support in the future.

Ninety per cent had a history of joblessness and substance abuse and 88 per cent had been incarcerated.

Hendry said the findings will help teach staff how to work with homeless people who have a head trauma.

"I think if our staff had a better understanding of working with the head injured, it would help," she said. "They won't just think the person is being unco-operative."

Petrenchik said the project "could be a model for other cities."

 

POVERTY IN THE MEDIA