Over 600 people joined our second annual Adversity, Trauma and Resilience Knowledge Exchange in partnership with the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit. With a focus on prevention, early intervention, and mitigating harm from preconceptions throughout life, the event showcased the amazing work that is taking place across our system.
Throughout the three-day event attendees took part on a journey from theory to practice, joined workshops and Q&A sessions and heard reports on the progress towards reaching our collective ambition as well as early findings from our research, evaluation, and development of resources.
Children and young people who experience adversity and trauma are at high risk of; poor physical/mental health and emotional wellbeing, substantive increases in adopting anti-social and health-harming behaviours, including serious violence, poor attendance/exclusion at school, and decreased educational attainment.
Adults who face multiple disadvantages because of trauma and adversity are four times more likely to have addictions, fifteen more times likely to take their own life, and three times more likely to be absent from work. To improve outcomes for the physical, mental health, and well-being of the people that live and work in West Yorkshire we need to work together to prevent trauma and adversity and mitigate existing harm across the life course. While fully eradicating trauma remains unlikely, actions to strengthen community resilience and assets may partially offset their immediate harms. Event attendees were tasked over the three days to listen, respond, and share evidence, knowledge, and practice. There was an emphasis on how grassroots expertise can underpin the shifts in culture and practice needed to achieve the West Yorkshire vision of ensuring the area is trauma-informed and responsive to people’s needs.
For more information see the Adversity, Trauma and Resilience Annual Knowledge Exchange website. Copies of the presentations and other handy resources will also be available on the resources section of these pages soon.