Trauma-Informed Network of Care for Chicago’s South and Westsides (TIN for Chicago) - Trauma-Informed Network of Care for Chicago’s South and Westsides (TIN for Chicago)
The Primo Center (Primo) is seeking funding for an important new program, Trauma-Informed Network of Care for Chicago’s South and Westsides (TIN for Chicago). Primo is uniquely positioned to lead this work. They are the recognized expert in Chicago in providing trauma-based services to homeless families. What’s different about Primo is their holistic approach to assisting families and community members, providing environments that are trauma informed and sensitive – from the security and cleaning staff to the board, working from a strengths-based perspective is always a priority. The results are a staggeringly low lifetime recidivism to homelessness rate that is consistently under 5%.
This program is a much-needed response to a nearly invisible population with high needs – homeless children in Chicago. Our most vulnerable children, homeless and exposed to trauma, face challenges beyond our imagination and at the same time, they are not the focus of critically needed services. Nowhere is childhood trauma more profound than what homeless children experience, yet we do not target necessary services to this population. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), more than one-fifth of homeless preschoolers have emotional problems serious enough to require professional care, but less than one-third receive any treatment (2005). Early intervention is completely underutilized for homeless children and long overdue, despite the fact that they have twice the rate of learning disabilities and three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems. And we know from research that by the time homeless children are eight years old, one in three has a major mental health disorder.
As our nation steps back to consider how our history, policies and institutions have negatively impacted families of color, and particularly Black and Brown families, it is imperative that the most vulnerable populations are at the center of dialogue, program and funding opportunities.
In 2019, 16,451 public school students in Chicago identified as homeless and over 80% of this population was either Black or Hispanic (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2020).
TIN for Chicago proposes to build on the capacity and capability of Primo’s family homeless services in Chicago to create environments that are responsive and sensitive to the historical and current trauma uniquely experienced by homeless families of color. The program will increase access to specialized, evidence-based trauma therapies through training professional and paraprofessional staff integrated with data and state-of-the art evaluation. By providing these services we expect to help families and children on their way to a healthier and more stable life in the community.
