Addressing Trauma and Moral Injury
If you were to talk to any guest in one of our programs, they would tell you a unique story about how they got there. No one dreams of being homeless, alone, and forgotten. For many, homelessness was brought about by childhood trauma, domestic violence, or not being accepted by society. Almost all of our guests have experienced trauma that resulted in moral injury at one point in their lives.
Nationally, Volunteers of America is committed to understanding how moral injury impacts an individual’s ability to lead a healthy, productive life. Through workshops and training, individuals can identify their moral injury, understand how it has impacted their mental health and decision making, and gain the tools to heal and move past it.
At VOA, Sherman Haggerty, an ordained minister and Director of Business Development, is working to train our employees on what it means to serve those with moral injury in their backgrounds. His most recent training at our family shelter taught trauma-informed care, understanding the psychological and physiological realities for many of the guests and giving them the tools to rebuild their lives.
VOA is committed to unraveling each individual’s root cause of homelessness so that they are able to heal and successfully move forward into independence.