“We remember the pain”: a qualitative study of intergenerational trauma among older adults experiencing homelessness in the HOPE HOME study

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of participants.

Characteristics	Older Adults (n = 46)	Hosts (n = 19)
Gender, number (%) Women Men Transgender women	10 (22) 35 (75) 1 (2)	15 (74) 4 (21) –
Race/ethnicity, number (%) Black White Latinx	40 (87) 5 (11) 1 (2)	17 (90) 1 (5) 1 (5)

Table 2. Intergenerational trauma in the lives of older adults experiencing homelessness.

Theme(s)
(1) Intergenerational trauma was common and made it difficult to stay with family or friends
Excess morbidity and mortality among families contributed to intergenerational trauma and homelessness	“My mom passed, then my dad passed. I had two brothers before my mom and dad passed, [who] drown at the same time. I had another brother that drowned and most of my immediate family [has died].” “People bein’ shot. My niece was shot, another nephew’s been shot, another one was shot. I just had somebody die. I’ve got one kin who’s been murdered, and then I got another one that’s just been shot. It’s nuts. So I had to leave.” “God knows his business. I will never complain. I never want to complain. He won’t put no more than you can bear.”
Living with family and friends provoked intergenerational trauma	“Mentally, we can only be in each other’s presence for so long because we get to talking about a lot of pain and suffering that we went through … ”
Intergenerational trauma fostered feelings of betrayal and resentment	“I have to really choose my, my conversation very carefully … They don’t want to hear about no one else’s successes because of our failures … I don’t know what subject to bring up and that’s sad, you know.” Host: “He doesn’t have anyone, ‘cause when you’re not there when your kids are young, they don’t too much be carin’ to be in your life, especially if they’re doin’ the same thing you were doin.’” “[My children] hold me hostage, hold me prisoner, a prisoner to the past.”
Intergenerational trauma generated conflict with role-reversal	“They [my children] want to treat me like I am a child and I’m not.” Host: “So you know, when he gets money, he doesn’t come around – only time he comes is when he needs something.”
(2) Participants and hosts sought to protect future generations from intergenerational trauma
Older adults wanted to use previous life experiences to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma:	“With my younger brothers, I was hard on them with their schoolwork … and I taught them the value of avoiding peer-pressure … all you have to say is ‘I don’t need that to feel good.’” “The life that I led, kids are leading now.”
Distancing from family to stop transmission of intergenerational trauma resulted in homelessness:	“[I] didn’t want [him] to see his daddy go down like [he] did.” “I just didn’t have the heart to be around nobody” “The only reason why I was resistant [to going home] – because I was on drugs, and I didn’t like to go around my family when I was on drugs.”
(3) Relationships endured despite intergenerational trauma
Relationships with family and friends remained a central part of participants’ lives:	“We sit, we talk, we cook together. We just do whatever come up … and that’s what makes life good.” “We keep in contact by phone … The holiday’s comin’ up so I’m gonna see everybody.” “I [would] go to church every Sunday with the grandkids.” Host: “[He] knows he’s always welcome to come back to me.”
Leveraging relationships with family or friends to achieve housing despite intergenerational trauma:	“When he made the statement that it was going to be hard on him to let me stay there, that let me know that he was willing to go out of his comfort zone in order to help me out.”
(4) Social structures exacerbated the impact of intergenerational trauma and played a significant role in perpetuating homelessness
Structural violence and racism perpetuated intergenerational trauma:	“The reason why [I’m uncomfortable here] is because in the immediate area, it’s nothing but Caucasians.” “You don’t know what a DA will do because they don’t even really look at your case. They look at your record and then your case.”
Overcrowded living spaces hindered living with family and facilitated intergenerational transmission of trauma:	“The first two were a year apart, then it was two years between my sister and my oldest brother, and then my three brothers and my sister … then a sister and two brothers, then my baby sister. We all grew up together in the same house.”
White hosts had more generational wealth and protection from additional social stressors:	“[I have] shelter, a place to cook food and eat it. I’d be the only one in a [bed]room … it gave me a little bit of time to collect my thoughts, remember who I am and not have to deal with people I otherwise probably wouldn’t be hanging out with.”
Early family separation was associated with intergenerational trauma and homelessness	“The state didn’t want to be responsible for me. I told ‘em don’t put me in no foster home, I was gonna run away. They said, ‘well, we’ll just emancipate her. Get rid of her real quick.’ I’ve been on my own since I was sixteen … But I ended up having a baby at seventeen.” Q: Did all the siblings go their own way? “Yes.” Q: And did you see each other very often then? “No.”