What is Trauma-Informed Housing?
Trauma-Informed Housing is an approach to the design and delivery of affordable rental housing that prioritizes people and their wellbeing.
It recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and offers practical solutions for creating environments where individuals and communities can flourish.
Why is trauma-informed housing necessary?
Trauma affects more than two-thirds of children by age 16. If left unaddressed, trauma can have a lasting impact on the body, brain and behavior— shaping how people navigate the world throughout their lives. Housing organizations, even with the best intentions, can unintentionally perpetuate trauma through rigid enforcement, excluding resident voices, or creating environments that feel unsafe or unwelcoming. But when we recognize these patterns and respond with care, housing can become a stabilizing force—promoting safety, trust, and healing.
Trauma-Informed Housing fundamentally shifts our approach from “What’s wrong?” to “What happened?”
This perspective change opens pathways to more effective solutions that benefit everyone involved. Our framework rests on four core principles that work together to transform housing design and delivery:
Safety & Trust
Creating physically and emotionally secure spaces through thoughtful design, clear communication, and predictable processes that build genuine relationships.
Choice & Empowerment
Restoring dignity by involving residents in meaningful decisions about their homes, recognizing their expertise, and providing authentic options.
Community & Collaboration
Fostering connections among residents and staff that combat isolation, break down silos, and generate innovative solutions to shared challenges.
Beauty & Joy
Acknowledging that healing environments must nurture the human spirit through welcoming spaces, cultural relevance, and opportunities for self-expression.
Implementation begins with listening to residents and staff about their experiences, reviewing policies through a trauma-informed lens, investing in staff well-being, and making incremental changes that demonstrate commitment. This creates a virtuous cycle where improved resident experiences, staff satisfaction, and operational outcomes reinforce each other—building communities where everyone can heal, grow, and thrive.
Check out our How to Become a Trauma-Informed Organization guide to learn more about how to get started.
Tools & Resources
Ready to deepen your knowledge about the intersection of trauma and housing? Looking for tools to help educate your colleagues? We’ve developed several resources to build awareness about trauma and why it matters in affordable rental housing:
Trauma-Informed Housing: A Deeper Dive
The paper explores how trauma—particularly Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—intersects with housing, emphasizing how housing conditions and practices can both cause and trigger trauma. Use this to deepen your understanding of the prevalence and impact of trauma in housing.
TRAUMA-INFORMED HOUSING Principles
POAH developed four sets of principles for a Trauma-Informed Housing approach. This two page guide summarizes the principles and offers specific examples of each.
resource list: trauma-informed care and housing
This list offers several resources on understanding trauma, trauma-informed care, trauma-informed building design, and more. Use this to kick-start your journey of trauma-awareness.
domains of trauma graphic (light)
This graphic shows the intersection of housing and trauma without specific examples.
domains of trauma graphic (detailed)
This graphic shows the intersection of housing and trauma through specific examples.