A Societal Approach to Understanding, Preventing and Supporting the Impacts of Trauma and Adversity
First launched in 2019, ACE Hub Wales’ flagship campaign — #TimeToBeKind — set out to promote kindness and build an “ACE aware Wales” by encouraging understanding and compassion toward people affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE).
Several years on, ACE Hub Wales is now co-leading work to become a trauma-informed nation with people and organisations across Wales. To help achieve the aim of a trauma-informed Wales, this phase of the campaign builds on the success of previous years by creating an emotionally charged TV advert that encourages a kinder, more compassionate society, so that everyone feels supported to thrive.
An all-society Framework to support a coherent, consistent approach to developing and implementing trauma-informed practice across Wales, providing the best possible support to those who need it most.
The Framework establishes how individuals, families/other support networks, communities, organisations and systems take account of adversity and trauma, recognising and supporting the strengths of an individual to overcome this experience in their lives. It also sets out the support they can expect to receive from the organisations, sectors and systems that they may turn to for help. It is inclusive of people of all ages, from babies, children and young people right through to older adults.
The Framework provides a Wales definition of trauma-informed approach, and a set of five principles that underpin four practice levels that describe the different roles people and organisations may have when supporting people affected by trauma. The levels extend from societal awareness that trauma and adversity exists and recognising the multiple presentations of the impacts of trauma; to enabling services to support practice that helps people feel connected, valued and safe, and through to specialist clinical interventions, that are personalised and co-produced, when these are required.
The Framework was developed in co-production with an Expert Reference Group that included Welsh professionals and people with lived experience, and with people and organisations across Wales through a public consultation. The Framework is supported by Welsh Government.
