The Long Journey Home was written as a response to some startling lessons we have learned from the field of homelessness over the last decade. It draws on guidelines from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration – who funded the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study to implement trauma-informed mental health, substance abuse and other support services for women (Moses, 2001; Moses, Reed, Mazelis, and D’Ambrosio, 2003). Its contents have been modified and refined to meet the needs of women who are homeless. We know that: (1) family homelessness is increasing; (2) women and children are at risk for becoming a majority of the overall homeless
population; (3) homelessness is traumatic and it makes families sick; and (4) violence is a critical ingredient in the recipe for homelessness. Violence and other traumatic events can be shattering. Their impact permeates all levels of relational development by calling trust into question. What was once assumed safe is no longer that way. A woman’s relationship to others, her environment, and herself (body, mind and spirit) is changed. The impact is intergenerational. Given the pervasive level of traumatic stress that results from severe physical and sexual assault, disconnection from relatives and children, and loss of ignificant supports due to illness, death, and dislocation, it is not surprising that women and children become significantly distressed. Yet, given this knowledge, there still remains a dearth of practical, hands-on guidance about how best to support these families in their healing process.