By Mikayla van Loon
Yarra Ranges homelessness service Anchor will pilot a new program over the next year focused on identifying how childhood trauma can have lasting effects.
Having received a $60,000 grant from the Regional Community Recovery Committees’ final round, as well as funding from Perpetual Trustees, a full time position will be created to run trauma informed interventional activities.
Passionate about the developmental impacts trauma can have on young people, particularly from experiences of being without a home, Anchor CEO Heidi Tucker has envisioned a program dedicated to the welfare of children.
“I walked in about eight years ago into Anchor and it always did concern me that there were many more children than there were adults who were following their parents into homelessness,” she said.
“In the homelessness sector, a little bit like the mental health sector, they become invisible and it’s all about a tenancy, it’s all about getting the housing.”
Ms Tucker said often families, once they have a roof over their head, pull away from organisational support because it’s that sense of ‘I’ve just got to get on with things now’.
But this program aims to help parents understand the trauma that being homeless can bring, particularly on young children.
“What I found out anecdotally over a number of years was that school refusal started earlier than other kids and education becomes very disrupted,” Ms Tucker said.
“Kids who might have been keeping up in Prep or Grade 1, maybe they have a whole lot of disconnecting experiences for a year or two and then they never really recover from it.
“Children and their needs are pretty invisible and silent and so I’ve been wanting for years now to try and test and learn some potential support interventions, particularly in the homelessness area.”
Not only is it educational development but also severe mental health issues and undiagnosed disability that this program hopes to help uncover should it be there.
Modelling the program off a supportive playgroup Anchor used to run, Ms Tucker said by hosting activities where parents and workers can observe the children but are in a safe space to have conversations, it may lead to identifying problems sooner rather than later.
“If they were able to sit down next to a little one saying, he or she looks like they’re finding it hard to pick up that block which you might not expect at three or four and have you noticed that too, they might say ‘oh well yes I have’,” Ms Tucker said as an example.
“Maybe if we do these exercises or you do more of this play when you’re in the hotel room or wherever you are, I can give you some toys, whatever might help that mode of developing that skill.”
The plan is to run a number of group activities for different age groups, like a playgroup, an after school club or adventure experiences for older children.
“Through those activities and interventions, what is going to really help to increase the capacity and capability of the parents and the family to understand the trauma and understand what the consequences of that might be.”
Based on anecdotal evidence, Ms Tucker said early intervention can prevent a lifetime of repeated trauma but she does hope this pilot program could be the basis of a research project to understand the benefits more succinctly.
While the program is in the planning stages and Ms Tuckers hopes to have it up and running before the end of the year, now all that’s left is to fill the year-long position.
“We are looking for someone who has the skills and has got a background and understanding in childhood development and the impacts of trauma and so forth.
“But also someone who’s curious, if they haven’t had an experience in the homelessness sector, curious about that.”
Whether it’s someone on secondment, a PhD candidate or a consultant, Ms Tucker said the role is just looking for someone who is passionate about gently supporting children and their families as they work to heal from an experience of homelessness.
For more about the role go to, www.anchor.org.au/get-involved/join-our-team/ and select the ‘Specialist Homelessness Children’s Practitioner’.
