Boston Globe: For children in foster care, physical spaces matter
By Lauren Baker and Jill Shah — September 4, 2023
The calmness of a space, or the chaos within it, makes a measurable difference in our daily lives. Think about what it feels like to be sitting by a lake, feeling a gentle breeze on your skin and listening to the water lap against the shore, versus standing in the middle of a loud construction site on a sweltering hot day.
There is a rapidly growing body of research demonstrating that the space around us directly impacts our ability to focus, function, feel safe, and develop connection with others. The sights, sounds, smells, textures, and colors around us impact our mood, either triggering past traumas or helping to ameliorate them. By incorporating trauma-informed design into renovation and construction, our physical environments can be a positive force for comfort. This concept has been put to the test over the past three years at state-run family visitation facilities across Massachusetts, and the results are astounding.