06/16/2026
"I had a breakdown. A lot of it was due to the childhood abuse."
That's what Tracy told us while she was staying at the Mission. She was processing what led to the falling out that ultimately caused her to lose her home.
Tracy grew up on a farm, where she described mental and physical abuse. That included being physically restrained and having her life threatened.
"We always had to be the best," Tracy said. If her or her siblings fell short in any way, that's when the abuse happened.
Though Tracy escaped that situation many years ago, she never fully recovered. She's prone to emotional outbursts and suffers from depression. She finds herself unable face certain situations and people, even though she logically knows she should be able to.
This is what ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ซ can look like. It rewires your brain to respond to danger at any time, even when there is none. It can trigger nightmares, intense and unpredictable emotional responses, social isolation, and much more.
John is another former client. After making the biggest mistake of his life, he spent nearly 3 years in a foreign prison. The conditions were so inhumane that it left a permanent scar on his psyche.
He has since been diagnosed with PTSD and describes what it's like: "I have flashbacks. The violence...the drug use. Authorities were abusive."
John's essentially lives in a permanent survival mode. He has a difficult time trusting others and is always on the lookout for danger, even when there is none.
We see this sort of thing more often than you'd think. Nearly every unhoused person has experienced at least one traumatic event. And we know this:
โข between 20-50% of people experiencing homelessness suffer from PTSD
โข the number is even higher for homeless veterans
โข thatโs compared to about 7% of the general US population
In fact, sometimes homelessness LEADS to PTSD - when you live on the streets, you are exposed to constant stress and danger.
So why does this matter?
Because if we're serious about ending homelessness, we have to be ready to help people manage PTSD.
At the Mission, we offer in-house group support for people dealing with addiction and mental health issues. We also connect clients with local mental health services at places like Spectra and Northeast, when appropriate.
In John's case, his case worker at the Mission connected him with a psychiatrist. That gave him the pathway he needed to receive treatment and therapy to manage his PTSD. With that kind of support, John's chances of finding (and keeping) work and housing go way up.
Thank you to Tracy and John for sharing their difficult, but ultimately hopeful, stories. Thank you to the Mission supporters who give people like them a safe place where they can get help. And thank you to everyone else for showing compassion to those of us who live with PTSD. โค
