For those experiencing homelessness, finding stable housing isn’t always as simple as finding an apartment and signing a lease. Many people have been through trauma, which can make it harder to make choices, trust others, or use support services. To better support them, Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) partnered with Oregon Community Continuum of Care (OCCC) to hire trauma expert Dr. Chris Wilson to provide training for case managers across the state.
Now, more than 450 community partners and service providers across 26 counties have access to this training for working with people who have trauma. Designed for those offering housing services, the course gives case managers the tools, science, and strategies to meet people where they are with kindness and understanding.
According to Dr. Wilson, trauma rewires the brain. Trauma heightens sensitivity to perceived threats and makes it harder to process time, plan, and make choices. People who have survived domestic violence, childhood abuse, or chronic homelessness, might react to help by shutting down, getting angry, or avoiding help.
“Threat isn’t just physical,” Dr. Wilson explained. “Threat is also social to what we call status like having a job, housing, relationships. People experiencing homelessness face threats to their status daily. Without a sense of control, they often fall into habitual behaviors or disengage.”
Without knowing about how trauma affects the brain, case managers might see these responses as just not wanting help. When they know that these responses stem from trauma, they can shift their approach to provide support in a way that fosters trust.
At Klamath and Lake Community Action Services (KLCAS), a housing service provider in Klamath County, case managers face this daily.
“Getting people to trust us is one of the hardest things,” said Crystal Rodriguez, a homelessness prevention coordinator at KLCAS. “Many have had bad experiences with service providers before. If they don’t trust the system, they won’t engage with it.”
Even after finding housing, some clients struggle to adjust. One KLCAS client kept sleeping in their car for weeks after being housed because they couldn’t shake the habits formed during years of living unhoused. Others refuse to call their landlords to report issues due to past bad experiences.
Trauma-informed training teaches staff to see these responses as signs of past hurt. One of the hallmarks of this approach is building relationships over time.
Brooke Matthews, the Balance of State Oregon Community Continuum of Care program manager at Community Action Partnership of Oregon (CAPO), explained: "We had a person who wouldn't even talk to us. We kept showing up with water and snacks, saying, 'There's no pressure.' After months of consistency, he came in and asked for help. He's now been stably housed for nearly two years."
Dr. Wilson's training teaches that their job isn't to "fix" clients or force them to change. The goal is to keep showing up, again and again, until they are ready. Even when setbacks occur, case managers learn to stay engaged and keep offering help.
“People in crisis often express a lot of motivation at first," Matthews said. "They say they'll go to classes, get a job, stop using drugs. But once they're housed and out of immediate crisis, new challenges emerge. Without ongoing engagement and support, that motivation can fade."
"It takes an investment," Kenzie Bispham, the homeless prevention team lead at KLCAS, said. "We've had people go from living on the streets to getting jobs, going to school, and even working towards careers as firefighters. They just needed support."
Focusing on relationships over rigid benchmarks helps build real, lasting success.
With OHCS' investment, this training is free to homeless services providers, local governments, tribal governments and other partners that serve the 26 Oregon counties that make up the OCCC. Whether they’ve been in the field for years or are brand new, case managers are building a shared toolkit that strengthens the entire network.
As Matthews shared, "This isn't just about helping one agency or community action group. We're creating a statewide foundation of trauma-informed individuals. Even if someone changes jobs, they carry that mindset with them wherever they go."
Trauma-informed training reminds housing partners to lead with care.
"These are people, not problems," Matthews said. "We're here to meet them with empathy, give them hope, and walk with them on their journey."
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