Trauma-informed housing was created using the principles of trauma-informed care and is intended to address the damaging legacy of affordable housing in the US. Instead of the grim barracks and tower designs of older housing, new developments are high quality and designed to be welcoming and serve residents’ needs. Instead of treating residents as problems, staff teams work to build trust with residents and engage them in decisions about services and policies in their homes.

POAH's toolkit defines a new vision for affordable housing that puts people at the center. The core principles of this vision are safety and trust; choice and empowerment; community and collaboration; and beauty and joy. Trauma-informed housing centers the lived experiences of community members and residents, and shares power with them in the processes of place and space design, housing management and procedure implementation, and service and staff investment. The following sections feature concepts and examples that POAH shared during the convening.