What were your academic and personal motivations for the research?
Note: This collage was one of the first graphics that I made for this project. I had been struggling to conceptualize my work in traditional academic forms. I was paralyzed by the uncertainty and unable to create the digital graphics that my professor was requesting. So, I started making collages. By getting my body moving and working in a creatively free space, I was able to move past some of my internal barriers.
Academic Intentions
Fulfill the master’s project requirements so I can get a job that pays me a living wage
(Contribute “new” knowledge to the field)
The goal of this research was to understand how the many contributing factors of trauma and homelessness impacted a resident’s ability to find healing, wellness, and connection. I experimented with a broad toolset––literature review, conversations, group activities, design projects, etc.— with the aim of facilitating the supportive relationships necessary to generate healthier transitional housing.
Stay out of quantitative data as much as possible.
This project is set up as “a qualitative study with an exploratory aim.” (Kovach, 2021).
Personal Intentions
To understand the houselessness crises better, wanted to come away with a broad understanding of why this crisis exists, how extreme poverty could exist in a nation with such abundance
To come out with stronger relationships, that’s the product I wanted to have out of this
To develop a process that worked for me—as someone who struggles with the impacts of trauma—I wanted a trauma-informed process for myself that centered my strengths and interests (tactile media, opportunities for boldness, relationship building + accountability, mentorship, collaboration)
To spend more of my time, my days, doing work that I care about and that contributes meaningfully to my community
To laugh more often (i.e. to have a good time, to make my life + my work better)
What were your motivations for the research? Who gave you the idea for this research? (Combine with #3)
This project started when my friend, Audrey Rycewicz, connected me with Yekang Ko, one of the directors of the UO program Landscape for Humanity. Yekang offered me a position to assist students in the implementation of community-design projects in her ‘Design for Climate Action’ course.
When the topic of a new project site called Everyone Village came up, I elected to co-facilitate the group with Ph.D. student Sara Loquist. I was especially excited to work there when I discovered that the founders were interested in incorporating a trauma-informed design approach. It was the first time that I'd heard of someone incorporating trauma-informed care principles into the design process and I was really curious to explore the possibilities.
More than just interest though, the trauma-informed design approach brought me hope. I was struggling in school when I learned about it. Most of my program was set up in a traditional studio format that I found to be ignorant of my needs as a neurodivergent designer. And this ignorance meant that I was being continually triggered in classes. By my second year in the program, I was exhausted, demoralized, and on the brink of dropping out.
This project started as a protest. I felt stunted by the design processes pushed on me by professors. After many tears and a marginal pass, I knew I needed to keep looking and the trauma-informed design process offered an opportunity to develop one of my own—a process tailored to my unique needs and values. What started as a protest turned into a transformative healing journey.