share a common commitment, with all partners across the system to prevent harm and improve the wellbeing of our population.
With an agreed vision of “Working together with people with lived experience and colleagues across all sectors and organisations to ensure West Yorkshire is a trauma informed and responsive system by 2030”.
Our approach is to reduce trauma, adversity and build resilience for the population across West Yorkshire in particular people who are vulnerable, facing multiple difficulties, complex needs, adversity, and childhood trauma.
Across the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership system we are taking a life course approach to adversity, trauma and building resilience in working towards reaching our ambition.
It is important to address adversity, trauma and build resilience as the determinants of health impact on a person’s health and well-being, both physical and mental health, from birth and throughout the life course.
Addressing the wider determinants of health will help improve overall health by helping to improve the conditions into which people are born, live and work. A long-term investment in a lifecourse and a system approach will reduce inequalities; improve health outcomes and the accumulation of risk throughout life.
Office of Health Improvement and Disparities – Health Matters describes a life course approach which considers the critical stages, transitions, and settings where large differences can be made in promoting or restoring health and wellbeing.
A life course approach values the health and wellbeing of both current and future generations. It recognises that there are a wide range of protective and risk factors that interplay in health and wellbeing over the life span.;
Risk factors for adversity and trauma include: Poverty, absence from school, domestic violence, criminal activity and serious violence, exploitation, poor mental health and wellbeing, isolation. Protective factors to build resilience include: trusted relationships, safe and secure environments, access to education, living in good quality housing, stable employment, friendships, networks, and support.
Our ambition is to promote healthy and resilient communities by breaking the intergenerational cycle of trauma and, disadvantage. We want to, responding to the increased challenges facing our population which are driving up inequalities as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic and the growing economic crisis.
Over the next eight years the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership and the West Yorkshire Health and Care partnership will continue to design, refine, implement and evaluate targeted interventions that address the key risk factors for our population. Together we will build on the strong partnerships across the system to ensure sustainability and embed reducing serious violence, trauma and adversity as everybody’s business.
Through our system partnership, we will continue to develop the evidence base to understand the needs of those who live and work in West Yorkshire and embed a culture change that prioritises prevention and early intervention.
Trauma informed and Responsive: Places 
Trauma informed and Responsive: Organisations and people 
Trauma informed and Responsive: Communities and Families 
Trauma, Adversity and serious violence 
Trauma informed and Responsive: Sectors