Becoming A Trauma Informed Borough

What is Trauma?

SAMHSA describes individual trauma as resulting from “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.”

Traumatisation occurs when both internal and external resources are inadequate to cope with external threat.

What is Trauma Informed Practice?

Trauma Informed Practice is based on the foundation of having a comprehensive understanding of how exposure to trauma affects an individual’s development and health outcomes. It also provides a platform to understand the complex and pervasive impact trauma can have on a persons’ view of the world and the relationships they experience.

The journey towards becoming trauma-informed requires organisations to move beyond their traditional models of service delivery and to re-evaluate their entire organisational practices and policies through a trauma-informed lens.

There are 5 principles of Trauma Informed Practice for organisations to follow:

Safety– Efforts are made by an organisation to ensure the physical and emotional safety of clients and staff. This includes reasonable freedom from threat or harm and attempts to prevent further re-traumatisation.
Trust worthiness– Transparency exists in an organisation’s policies and procedures, with the objective of building trust among staff, clients and the wider community.
Choice and voice– Clients and staff have meaningful choice and a voice in the decision-making process of the organisation and its services.
Collaboration– The organisation recognises the value of staff and clients’ experience in overcoming challenges and improving the system as a whole. This is often operationalised through the formal or informal use of peer support and mutual self-help.
Empowerment– Efforts are made by the organisation to share power and give clients and staff a strong voice in decision-making, at both individual and organisational levels

Becoming A Trauma-Informed Borough- Our Journey So Far

2012

In 2012, BwD commissioned a population level survey to understand the levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the borough. The study found that almost half (46%) of adults in BwD had at least one ACE, with 12% of adults having suffered 4 or more ACEs.

2013-2018

Between 2013- 2018, the following actions towards developing a Trauma Informed ‘Social Movement’ were carried out:

Developed an ACES animation in partnership with Public Health Wales which tells the story of a young boy growing up, and how his experience with ACEs have affected his life. It also explains the roles that different agencies can play in preventing them and supporting those impacted.
Citizen’s Inquiries take place in partnership with Healthy Living and Healthwatch BwD to engage with community members with regards to approaching ACEs and building a set of recommendations for developing trauma informed communities.
A scoping study of the implementation of REaCH in different organisations was conducted, and an evaluation of the implementation pack pilot was undertaken
A Young Person’s Toolkit was created by young people in BwD to inform adults on how young people would like to be approached and supported when discussing ACEs
ACEs Citizen’s Jury Report October 2021.docx

2021

The EmBRACE model in BwD was evaluated and its Trauma Informed approach was found to create ‘sustainable cultural change and asset-based capacity building over time’ (Hibbin & Warin, 2021).
A systems resilience framework was developed to support a shared understanding of our local ambition to become a Trauma Informed Borough.
5 Trauma Informed Networks were established:
- Early Years
- Education
- Communities
- Vulnerable Children and Young People
- Vulnerable Adults
Each network is led directly by members of that sector to ensure that meaningful actions can be identified and worked on collaboratively. If you would like to join a network, please contact: publichealthadmin@blackburn.gov.uk

2024- 2026

Trauma Informed Training

In 2024, we launched our Basic Trauma Informed Awareness Training. This full day, in person training aims to ensure that services are delivered in ways that prevent further harm or re-traumatisation for those who have already experienced psychological trauma or adversity at any stage in their live.

To sign up to the training, please visit BwD Council – Me Learning or contact workforce.development@blackburn.gov.uk

Trauma Informed Conference 2026

On the 12^{th of} May 2026, we are hosting a Trauma Informed BwD: From Awareness to Responsive Conference at Blackburn Central Library. This full day event will bring partners together to strengthen and showcase trauma informed practice across Blackburn with Darwen.

The day will include keynote presentations, a panel Q+A, lunch, networking opportunities, and interactive workshops designed to support learning, reflection and collaboration.

For more information, please visit:

Trauma Informed BwD from Awareness to Responsive Tickets, Tuesday 12 May • 9:30 – 16 | Eventbrite

Related Services

ACEs

Adverse Childhood Experiences, such as childhood trauma

Mental Health for Adults

Find out about mental health services, organisations that can support you and training opportunities in BwD.

Mental Health for Young People