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Nearly a third of front-line homeless shelter staff in Alberta are living with post-traumatic stress disorder as an unintended side effect of working to give the homeless and at-risk citizens a better life.

A new study from the University of Calgary shows 33 per cent of homeless shelter workers regularly experience trauma while working with clients, leading to symptoms of PTSD.

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The study looked at 472 workers from 23 agencies in Calgary and Edmonton and found 24 per cent of respondents are struggling with PTSD at levels high enough to warrant stepping back from the job.

And considering police, firefighters and paramedics suffer from PTSD at a rate of 10 to 14 per cent, one of the study’s authors said the numbers show a “root-shift” in organizations is needed to reduce the “significant impact” trauma has on staff.

“When people have no outlet for their emotions, things build over time, and that creates traumatic stress,” Prof. Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff said in a statement.