In 2007, training to become a mental health counsellor in Dublin, I became aware of the significant numbers of individuals presenting with trauma – including trauma caused by home invasion and burglary. Knowing from personal experience the impact of trauma of any kind, I found it easy to identify and empathise with these clients. In late 2008 a friend told me she was so depressed as a result of being terrorised in her own home by a burglar that she was considering moving to a different part of Dublin. I began to think deeply about her response and the life-altering consequences reported by others I had worked with earlier. Their deepest need is to recover a sense of being safe in their own homes.