Trauma-informed housing and wellbeing in resettlement: An actionable design model from refugee children’s perspectives and mothers’ photovoice

Abstract

Housing plays a central role in refugee integration, shaping psychological wellbeing and everyday adaptation. However, limited research has examined how refugee children experience housing environments as sources of safety or stress during resettlement. Many refugee children carry the effects of displacement, conflict, and prolonged instability, which influence how they interpret safety, predictability, and belonging in daily life. Within both home and neighborhood environments, they encounter conditions that can either support well-being or heighten vulnerability. Although trauma informed design highlights the role of built environments in reducing distress and supporting recovery, its application in refugee housing remains limited, and children's perspectives are often overlooked. This qualitative participatory study engaged nine Zomi refugee children and nine mothers resettled within the last five years across three neighborhoods in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Using creative design workshops and storytelling with children, alongside photovoice with mothers, the study explored how housing environments shape children's daily experiences. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis informed by trauma-informed care principles. Findings indicate that children associate well-being with safe, community-oriented homes and neighborhoods that support cultural identity, play, and social connection. In contrast, limited indoor space, poor maintenance, and inadequate amenities act as ongoing stressors that can intensify trauma-related distress and recall past experiences of instability. Overall, the study highlights how housing and neighborhood conditions can either mitigate or exacerbate trauma-related stress, offering practical implications for designing inclusive environments that support refugee children's well-being in resettlement.