Part two of the four-part discussion series, “When Homelessness Hits Close to Home,” was held June 14 at the Creston Valley Public Library, focusing on determinants of health and risk factors that contribute to homelessness and substance use. The event featured speakers from local stakeholders, who shared personal stories and research on how childhood trauma, mental health barriers, a toxic drug supply, and systemic inequities converge to create today’s crisis.
This year, a mission by advocates to educate the public about the misconceptions of homelessness has continued in Creston. The Den Society, Creston Valley Public Library, and various other local organizations have come together to discuss the complex issue and interconnected nature of housing and toxic drugs – both in crisis.
Adverse effects of childhood trauma
At the panel earlier this summer, Daniel Grigat, health equity lead with Interior Health, shared a personal story of his older brother David, who became homeless at 13, struggled with addiction, and ultimately passed away at 38.
“David didn’t die because he made bad choices,” Grigat said. “He died because he was the victim of trauma throughout his life.”
Grigat emphasized trauma should be viewed in the same way as any physical illness. He presented research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), of which the ACE score measures the number of traumatic events in a person’s life by asking 10 questions such as: Did you live with anyone who had a problem with drinking or using drugs? Or did an adult in your home ever physically hurt you?
Higher ACE scores — reflecting childhood abuse, neglect, or household instability — dramatically increase risks of chronic illness, mental health struggles, addiction, and even early death. In 2017, a meta-analysis of 250,000 participants revealed stark numbers: people with ACE scores greater than four were 10 times more likely to develop substance use disorders and nearly 38 times more likely to attempt suicide. In cases of extreme trauma (ACE scores higher than seven), the likelihood of injection drug use was 80 times higher than the general population.
“Stress is tolerable when we have a safe place to be, and people who we trust to go to. But when you’re in an environment in which you don’t feel safe anywhere, that’s when chronic and toxic stress impacts your body,” said Grigat. “Our nervous system is designed to identify threats … In situations like that, your body doesn’t know what to do, so it just shuts down.”
Repeat trauma rewires the nervous system to not know the difference between what is actually dangerous and what is not. This often leads people to use unhealthy adaptive strategies to manage their system’s dysregulation – through substance use and other types of addictions.
“You can’t get enough of something that almost works, almost makes you feel better,” said Grigat.
On top of that, systemic inequities and negative stereotypes — such as racism, colonialism, homophobia, and poverty — also compound trauma, limiting access to care and creating barriers of stigma.
“We do need to try to alter these structural determinants of health and get to a place of equity,” he said. “And what that means is we’re removing all of these unfair and unjust barriers to people having the opportunity to live their best and healthiest lives.”
You can read the full article on the Creston Valley Advance’s website.
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