Many homeless people have experienced complex traumatic life experiences, which continue to negatively impact on their lives in harmful ways. 

Trauma refers to harmful emotional, psychological, biological and social human responses to an event(s) or circumstances which are experienced as life threatening to the individual. Substance Abuse and Mental health Administration (SAMHSA) 2014

“Being traumatised means continuing to organise your life as if the trauma were still going on – unchanged and immutable – as every new encounter or event is contaminated by the past” Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score

The pathway into homelessness does not always start later in an individual’s life. Studies have found that experiences at different stages of a person’s life, such as childhood or teenage years, can result in them becoming homeless.

Public Health England's review 'Adults with complex needs (with a particular focus on street begging and street sleeping)’.

This study highlights that:

“...early trauma/adverse childhood experiences result in an increased likelihood of being homeless in the future. 98 per cent of those who experienced such events also had experience of being homeless at some point in their adult life and or were currently homeless”.