Literature Reflection Holtrop et al. (2015) is the only recent article utilizing the key words family resiliency, homelessness, and mental health and connecting all three words in a descriptive study. Holtrop et al. (2015) is able to connect all the hypotheses related to the key words into an article with data. More often, two of the three key word combinations offered articles giving insight into the family unit and their coping mechanisms dealing with homelessness. Holtrop et al. (2015) descriptive research on the psychosocial health of homelessness in families identified five themes of challenge and resiliency: (a) parenting does not change during homelessness, (b) transitional family community housing is a good choice, (c) the community …show more content…
The number of families experiencing an adverse life event created loss of homes, family rituals, sudden poverty, helplessness, and mental health trauma. The national acknowledgement of the devastation and lingering mental health issues of the precipitating event burdened all families and resources of the counties. The St. Bernard Family Resiliency Project (SBFRP) recognized the community need to offer a broad service network of mental health support to families displaced by the hurricane. The only structure left standing after the hurricane, the school, became the central hub of family services that included trailers housed on the school property to keep families housed together and mental health services to address the trauma of loss and victimization. St. B of the catastrophic event. (St. Bernard Family Resiliency Project [SBFRP], 2010). The SBFRP utilized the family’s strength-based approach of resiliency to support mental health needs. The Louisiana State University Department of Psychiatry brought students and faculty to offer mental health services to the families on a daily basis. The families were close to the children while attending school. To date, this is the most successful use of family resiliency in the face of homelessness and mental health issues and serves as a model for all communities to offer the …show more content…
Providers in homeless shelters learn filial therapy, a derivative of child’s-play, accepting the individual and family unit with positive regard; the therapy increases the parent-child relationship, promote self-esteem, and decreases parenteral stress of the homelessness situation (Kolos et al., 2009). Filial therapy is currently in use in many family homeless shelters – children participate in one hour learning sessions on a variety of health topics, parents have sessions to discuss their concerns with being homeless, and mental health issues are addressed with providers who offer their