There is no one single cause of homelessness. It’s just not that simple. It’s easy to point to some leading reasons: lack of affordable housing; poverty; substance abuse; mental health issues; domestic violence. Yet even those risk factors can’t explain why an individual or a family ends up homeless.
The truth is there are thousands in Wake County who are one paycheck, one illness, or one stroke of bad luck away from being homeless. It’s often the cumulative impact of many factors.
Each situation is different, but there is one common underlying thread… Adverse Childhood Experiences.
What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Many of those experiencing homelessness have been subjected to Adverse Childhood Experiences, known as ACEs. Living through ACEs, which include abuse and neglect, often leads to toxic stress, which affects brain development and can lead to long-term emotional, mental, and physical health problems. It makes everything harder, including learning to read and building trusting relationships.
It leaves a person vulnerable.
Our New Life Plan is carefully designed to address the underlying causes of homelessness. We know that before an individual can truly move forward and overcome the negative behaviors or circumstances that led them to our door, they must take an honest look at themselves.
We start with thorough assessments, and then follow that with counseling, tutoring, behavioral therapy, and vocational training needed to help our clients start to rebuild their lives.
We need your continuing support year round, and ask that you consider an EXTRA gift by the end of this year so we can provide the needed support to our clients.
