How does your specific identity and life experience impact the research?

Note. Trauma impacts our ability to remain engaged and connected in our lives and to our daily projects. This image depicts how the cycle of trauma often leaves me in the messy and chaotic phase of research–searching aimlessly for insight and direction amongst an overwhelming amount of information and stimulus.

It has also been challenging for me to work on this project at times due to my own personal trauma. This means living and working in the liminal space between hurt and healing and all that it encompasses. It also means that I’m not always able to show up in the way that I’d like to for the residents and staff at Everyone Village. This realization has been a humbling one. While at times it manifests as asking for help, at other times it means accepting a new standard for the day or for my work. While difficult and disorienting at moments, it’s also been a healing process for me to practice self-reflection, care, and connection in relation to my research. In addition to making my work more meaningful, this trauma-informed approach towards myself also inspires empathy and understanding for the residents. This approach not only provides space for healing, but it gives room for learning, curiosity, and inspiration in the process—all of which are necessary ingredients for good research.

Additionally, my brain is wired in a different way than most people. I didn’t have a name for this struggle until a couple of weeks ago but it played a large role in the shaping of this process. Given the challenges of living with ADHD, I don’t always have the freshest mind for organizing and staying focused on one task. As I nestled into the reality of my circumstance, I found tools to help me continue to move forward. The non-linear, cyclical nature of my process is a great metaphor for my focus and it helped to create a safe framework for me to explore the world without the judgment and criticism that I so often endure in most academic settings. This element of my lived experience dictates how and when I can engage. And it is in my awareness and adaptation to this adversity that I feel I can bring greater compassion, creativity, and resourcefulness to the trauma-informed design process.

Lastly, coming from a low socio-economic background, I’m familiar with the flashes of fear when I find myself lacking basic necessities. However, I am unable to fully comprehend the struggles of residents at Everyone Village since I have never experienced houselessness myself. Given this important difference, I tried to center the residents’ voices as much as possible in the brainstorming and decision-making process of our projects.

I’ve also had to adjust my expectations and assumptions about my work at Everyone Village. Given the breadth and depth of need at Everyone Village, and the limitations of my outside knowledge, I had to learn ways to leave adequate space for residents to adapt my support to their needs. This was challenging for me at times, and I definitely made mistakes. For instance, I ran a visualization activity with residents about their ideal conceptions of home. The hope was that it would inspire potential cottage modification ideas that my fellow students and I could use to guide our collaboration. Understandably, this activity brought up a lot of diverse emotions—some joyful, some painful—and the images and words they shared afterward were reflective of that spectrum. Rather than inspiring creativity and relevant information, I had restricted some of the participants ability to fully participate. If I had collaborated with the residents on the design of the activity, I may have saved a number of residents from these strong, painful emotions. I learned I needed to provide more choice and agency for residents in my collaborations with them. It was a reminder that I can have a trauma-informed goal and fall short in my application. The feedback and reflection from this activity helped me to identify some blind spots in my process and to restructure my approach toward group activities. It was also an important lesson in understanding how to show up and provide support for people in the way that will be most helpful for them, not simply defining that idea on my own.