Member-only story
Move-In Day’s Here, But Change is Hard to Bear
Leaving homelessness behind is thrilling and challenging for this autistic person and my traumatized family
Homelessness is a specific type of trauma that cuts you to your core. One’s hierarchy of needs becomes all and every bit of that trauma has to be compartmentalized to survive.
However, the longer the trauma of homelessness continues (for us, it’s been eight months), the harder it is to contain all of the trauma that you were already carrying going into homelessness.
The pain of losing your home, some family heirlooms, and your sense of security.
The pain of losing a beloved pet who felt like a part of your family, and the pain of feeling like you failed your child.
The pain that you are continuing to fail him as he expresses his pain through abusive words that cut you so deeply, you react in anger before you think better of it.
He is only expressing his deepest worries in the worst, hormone-fueled teenage way and needs my guidance, but I am afraid I have often failed him in even providing that.
On too many occasions, like feral animals, my husband, son, and I have turned against each other, and the better part of this year has involved…
