How will Leeds become a trauma-informed city?

The Compassionate Leeds Strategy document sets out a strategic vision agreed upon by all the key partners who commission, provide and support services for babies, children, young people and families in Leeds.

This strategy will help leaders in Leeds to hold themselves and others to account for delivering the vision for Leeds to become a trauma-informed city, with the expectation that it will take time and sustained effort and motivation to embed this approach.

Strong Foundations: Within the children’s partnership in Leeds, many different teams, services, schools and organisations have already begun their journey towards becoming trauma-informed and there is already lots of strong practice and great work to build on. This Hub will be a place to share learning and spotlight success and progress across all sectors and organisations.

Watch the video below to hear from professionals in Leeds about their experience being trauma-informed.

New Integrated Resource Team: Funding is secured for the children’s partnership to establish a new integrated multi-agency team that will be a resource for children’s services, teams and settings on their trauma-informed journey. This new team will work closely with existing services to support the implementation of the Compassionate Leeds strategy.

Listen to the podcast episode below to hear Penny Netherwood, Health Co-Lead in the team, talk about the Compassionate Leeds strategy on Wag Tales, an Australian podcast series about trauma informed practice, wellbeing and education.

Trauma Informed Communities: In 2022, Leeds Health and Care Partnership worked with Volition, Forum Central and Leeds Community Foundation to create the Trauma Informed Work in Communities Grant Programme to connect with communities, and work in partnership with stakeholders to learn from those with lived experience and build on existing assets within the community.

The programme recognises the transformative power that’s held within communities in building protective factors for children, young people and families who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, adversity. The focus of the funding was on Community Organisations working with children, young people and families to promote strong, healthy relationships and teach relationship and pro-social skills and to take a positive, asset-based, preventative approach. The organisations funded were not required to have a prior understanding of trauma or trauma-informed practice; yet, they recognised their organisation values align with the trauma-informed approaches of: awareness, sensitivity, compassion and empathy.

To find out more about Trauma Informed Communities and the community organisations funded, visit this website or read the below resources.

Support from Adult Services: Children and young people live with and are cared for by adults and quickly become adults and parents to our next generation of children. Partners in Leeds who work with adults are united in this ambition for Leeds to become a trauma-informed city and are also working on a range of projects to support this ambition such as a Charter for the whole city on trauma informed care.

Read more about this in the below document.

Support across West Yorkshire: Across the West Yorkshire region, there is a wider programme of trauma-informed change that is being co-ordinated by the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. This programme is called the Adversity, Trauma and Resilience Programme. As well as providing support to each place within the West Yorkshire region, they are also working on region-wide projects including with the West Yorkshire Police, with the Prison and Probation services and with midwifery services. Leeds is a key partner in this broader ambition for West Yorkshire to become trauma-informed by 2030.

What is trauma-informed practice?

Visit our page here to find out more.