A new initiative is using digital storytelling to explore and share the lived experiences of forced migrants in Wales. Led by academics from Aberystwyth University, the Welsh Pathway to Peace project has launched the first of its digital stories to mark World Refugee Day - June 20th 2025.
This spotlight report highlights the fantastic work of Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS) in implementing the Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (TrACE) - informed Organisational Toolkit. As a consortium organisation, GDAS provide substance use support across Gwent and this spotlight highlights this journey, focussing on their vision, their approach to embedding the TrACE - informed Organisational Toolkit and how the Toolkit has assisted them to make positive changes in their commitment to becoming a TrACE - informed organisation.
GDAS are committed to applying a trauma-informed lens in all areas of their work and this spotlight can be used as a helpful resource for all organisations embarking on their TrACE journey.
This study investigates the healthcare needs, barriers to access, and the role of unmet health needs for women in, or at risk of entering, the criminal justice system. The research focuses on the first-hand experiences of women in North Wales, prior to any involvement with the criminal justice system in relation to their primary health needs (mental and physical health), using a mixed-methods approach including a focus group, questionnaires, and interviews.
The report’s recommendations focus on addressing barriers to healthcare access, prioritising early intervention and preventative healthcare, implementing trauma-informed and gender specific areas, expanding and integrating community-based services, streamlining, and improving service pathways and promoting further data collection and research in this area to fill existing gaps in knowledge and understanding in this area.
This guidance is to support organisations implementing the TrACE Toolkit, ensuring that they consider all aspects of their physical and social environment and the impact that it can have on staff, service users and anyone else who accesses the organisation. It is relevant to all those who are actively seeking to make their organisation’s physical environments more TrACE-informed. It seeks to illustrate that even small changes can have a big impact on how people interact with, and experience, an environment and that all organisations can seek to improve their physical environments regardless of budgetary and other constraints. It emphasises the need for careful planning, design, and implementation to create safety and promote healing and well-being for those who experience the environment and seeks, as far as is possible, to resist re-traumatising people who use the space.
This report explores trauma-informed training availability and needs of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) practitioners in Wales. ESOL learners come from diverse backgrounds, including refugees and asylum seekers who may have experienced complex trauma. It is essential that ESOL providers are trained to provide valuable support to these learners. The report presents findings from interviews with ESOL practitioners across Wales, exploring their training experiences and identifying additional training needs. The report's recommendations focus on enhancing trauma-informed training availability and delivery in Wales. The report is designed for ESOL practitioners and policymakers interested in trauma-informed approaches to teaching.
This important resource was co-produced with two of our third sector partner organisations, both Cymorth Cymru and Platfform have extensive expertise and experience of promoting psychologically-informed approaches, including reflective practice, in housing and homelessness, and mental health and wellbeing in a trauma-informed and relational way. The Starter Kit brings together knowledge, wisdom and practical advice, tested with people and organisations across Wales and through the TrACE Space.
This Reflective Practice Starter Kit is designed to be a practical starting point for these complex conversations and to support the development of a reflective and learning culture within your team, organisation or for yourself. This kit aims to help everyone involved in the TrACE-Informed journey to take steps to include reflective practice in their day-to-day operations. By doing so, the organisation will benefit from a strong learning culture, rooted in continuous improvement that includes not just what was done, but how it was done and how that felt for the people involved so that good practice can be embedded further and areas identified for further review and development.
This report outlines how, through adopting the ’Marmot City’ approach developed by Sir Michael Marmot, at a regional level in Gwent, ‘Building a Fairer Gwent’ seeks to embed a trauma-informed model that tackles health inequalities in a way that is aligned to the principles and ethos of the Wales Trauma-informed Framework. ‘Building a Fairer Gwent’ recognises the inextricable link between the social determinants of health, health inequalities and the risk of adverse childhood experiences and trauma. This work provides an important contribution to knowledge about community level work to tackle root causes.
Welcome to ACE Hub Wales’ Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma-Informed Practice e-Learning course. In reference to the National Trauma-Informed Wales Framework, this online course is considered to be at the “trauma-aware” level.
The purpose of this guide is to aid organisations to create their own Statement of
Commitment. This is a key step in co-creating a shared understanding, common
purpose and responsibility for leadership at all levels, which informs and engages
with everyone in the organisation. A well-crafted Statement of Commitment can
help communicate the intention and prioritisation to becoming a TrACE-informed
organisation to staff, service users and wider stakeholders.
An Evidence Review and Mapping Exercise
A short pre-recorded training resource delivered to those working with displaced people
A History Shaping the Future
