Pastoral Ministry with Individuals Experiencing the Trauma of Homelessness

Abstract

The Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood where I pastored for nine years is home to a community of chronically homeless individuals. Through my encounters with these individuals, I became familiar with both their experiences of trauma that contributed to their homelessness and the ongoing trauma of their experiences of homelessness. I rarely knew the details of the traumatic events, due in part to the fact that the stories I received often expressed a reality so foreign to my experience that it was difficult for me to grasp. I struggled with an appropriate pastoral response in these situations but tried to welcome these neighbors as bearers of the image of God.