News for Action: July 2025

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July 2025

NEWS FOR ACTION

A Monthly Newsletter to Spread the Seeds and Connect the Dots

Hello and welcome to the first of our new monthly newsletter! I’m Bonnie, your new editor, a trainee psychotherapist, CSA survivor, and proud member of the London ACEs Hub.

This role means a great deal to me. After many years of being unable to work due to chronic illness, caring for my 'SEN' children and enduring retraumatisation through poor access to mental and physical healthcare, I’m finally on a path of healing. Thanks to finding the right therapy, receiving a bursary for my training, and having support at home from a PA, I now have the capacity to volunteer and this newsletter is helping me rebuild confidence and discover my voice.

Stepping into this role is part of letting go of old introjects that told me I had nothing to offer, was unable to commit and couldn’t manage deadlines. The London ACEs Hub has welcomed me so warmly, embracing creativity and offering the flexibility that’s helped me feel safe enough to try. Deadlines and commitment still feel daunting, rooted in trauma responses from the past so please bear with me. I’m learning to trust myself and my abilities, and I hope to continue to grow into being a brilliant editor for this community.

This month’s newsletter brings together some rich and vital updates:

We highlight the Stephen Lawrence Architecture Scholarship, which offers funding and mentoring for Black students in memory of Stephen’s legacy.

The Survivors Trust is offering a free, CPD-accredited Trauma-Informed Workplace Training programme to help organisations support staff affected by abuse, and ACAMH is promoting their first conference from their Special Interest Group on ACEs on trauma-informed care across services - don't miss the early bird deadline!

YoungMinds is marking Pride Month by celebrating Queer Disabled Stories, shining a light on visibility and mental health.

We also share The Survivors Trust’s recent webinar reviewing the Government’s response to IICSA.

Finally, we spotlight a powerful new book, Black Women, Trauma and Mental Health, which brings together radical perspectives from Black women therapists on healing, care, and intersectionality.

Thank you for reading, and for being part of this community. I'm so proud to share this space with you.

In solidarity,
Bonnie

News for Action aims to spread news related to ACEs, trauma-informed care (TIC), and resilience-building! The 'three pillars’ of the London ACEs Hub.

If you have information or events to share that align with these aims, please send them to the contact below for knowledge mobilisation.

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TIME FOR NEWS FOR ACTION!

EVENTS

Book Launch: Uncovering Hidden Histories – Community Health Practitioners and Child Sexual Abuse in the Family

Join the launch of Community Health Practitioners and Child Sexual Abuse in the Family, 1970s–2010s, a new book by Ruth Beecher exploring how health visitors, doctors, and community mental health practitioners identified and responded to child sexual abuse within families. Drawing on archival research and oral history interviews, the book offers vital insights into professional practice over five decades. The event features speakers Tracey Loughran, Professor of History at the University of Essex; Sophie Olson, survivor-activist and founder of The Flying Child CIC; and Deborah Hodes, retired consultant community paediatrician and advisor on child sexual abuse and female genital mutilation. Talks will be followed by refreshments and informal discussion.

8 July 2025

18:30 - 20:30 BST
Keynes Library, 43 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London

Free

Register

Creating Safer Workplaces: Trauma-Informed Training for Employers on Domestic and Sexual Abuse

In partnership with the Home Office, The Survivors Trust provides CPD accredited training programme to help employers in England and Wales create trauma-informed workplaces for staff affected by domestic and sexual abuse. The training equips Support Ambassadors to raise awareness, signpost to services, and lead cultural change. Spaces are no longer available for NHS staff or those in the domestic or sexual violence sector, and bookings are limited to three per organisation. Further dates in August and September are available on their website.

15 or 16 July 2025

28-29 July

10:00 - 13:00 BST
Online

Free

Register

Trauma Awareness Training

Join Kazzum Arts for the second of two creative and interactive training sessions exploring the core principles of a trauma-informed approach. Building on Day 1, this session deepens understanding of the Autonomic Nervous System, social engagement and defence states, and systemic trauma. It offers practical tools for creating trauma-informed environments, introduces Trauma Stewardship, and supports sustainable practice through reflection, arts-based methods, and relational learning. Suitable for Practitioners within Arts, Culture and Education settings

Tues 29h July 2025

10-13:30 BST

£41

Online

Book

Trauma Informed Care – Understanding the challenges, and the pragmatic steps which need to be taken to operationalise and deliver Trauma Informed Care across services

Don’t miss ACAMH’s first-ever conference from their new Special Interest Group on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Taking place online this October. This landmark event brings together leading experts from across the UK and Europe to share cutting-edge research, practical strategies, and real-world case studies for embedding trauma-informed approaches in health, education, and youth services. With insights from those leading systemic change in Denmark, Wales, and Scotland, and innovative frameworks like MICE (Metallisation Based Intervention for Children with Epilepsy), this conference is a must for professionals looking to turn trauma-informed theory into meaningful action. Early bird tickets are available until the end of July.

16th October 2025

Thu 10:00-17:00 GMT

Online
Early bird prices until 31 July: £79 for ACAMH Members, £159 for Learn Account holders and Non-Members (£99/£179 from 1 August).

Register

REPORTS

Breaking the Cycle: Housing Needs for
Women Leaving Prison in London

May 2025

The London Assembly’s Breaking the Cycle report highlights the urgent need for safe, stable housing for women leaving prison in London. It reveals that many face homelessness, with minoritised and migrant women disproportionately affected. Without secure accommodation, women are at greater risk of reoffending, exploitation, and mental health crises. The report calls for gender-specific housing, improved support services, and better coordination across agencies to ensure women have a fair chance at rebuilding their lives.

Read Report

ACTION AND TOOLS

New funding for youth Arts projects through Dormant Assets fund

26 June 2025

In June, the Cultural Learning Alliance highlighted £132.5 million from the government’s Dormant Assets strategy to boost youth arts initiatives covering music, reading, safe spaces, creativity for employability, and support for children in care, alongside key policy developments, enhanced school infrastructure funding, expanded free school meals, a 12-month lifeline for National Dance CATs, and cultural education embedded in the new Industrial and Creative Industries strategy. Additionally, an £85 million Creative Foundations Fund from Arts Council England will upgrade venues for better access; Universities UK called for collaboration to prevent creative course “cold spots”; provisional data showed mixed GCSE/A‑level arts uptake; and sector leaders received top honours all underscoring a pivotal moment for arts in education and youth provision.

Read

Salzburg Statement calls for equity-centred transformation of global health science

3rd June 2025

The Salzburg Statement, launched at the 2025 World Health Assembly, calls for a radical transformation of global health science to centre equity, justice, and community-led knowledge. Backed by over 50 global experts, it urges funders, institutions, and policymakers to decolonise health systems, embrace diverse forms of knowledge, and prioritise holistic, rights-based approaches to health.

Read

RACIAL JUSTICE

Children should not be strip-searched or detained unless a last resort, say MPs

2 Jul 2025

Police oversight groups and MPs urge that children in England and Wales should only be detained or strip-searched as a last resort, after an All‑Party Parliamentary Group investigation uncovered disturbing practices. Children as young as 10 were held up to 24 hours, often without adults or legal support, and with searches marred by racial bias and psychological harm. The APPG recommends limiting detention to 12 hours, banning all non-essential strip-searches, and ensuring immediate access to legal advice to protect young people in custody to drive real change.

Read

Black SEND Children and Stopping Their Marginalisation

1 February 2025

Black children with special educational needs face compounded challenges in UK schools, misinterpreted behaviour, over-identification for SEND, under-support, and disproportionate discipline. With many parents expressing deep dissatisfaction and evidence of higher exclusion and justice system entry, it's clear urgent change is needed. The Black Curriculum calls for targeted anti-racist and SEND-aware training for educators, a platform for lived voices, and systemic reforms to ensure Black SEND pupils are visible, valued, and supported.

Read

Football Foundation funds scholarship in memory of Stephen Lawrence

The University of Greenwich, in partnership with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and supported by the Football Foundation, is offering a £19,070 scholarship to cover fees for the Architecture Part 2 MArch course starting in 2025/26. Open to Black students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, or those who are estranged or care-experienced, the scholarship includes mentoring and development opportunities with the Football Foundation. One scholarship is available for full- or part-time study (pro rata for part-time), and applications will be assessed from 14 August 2025. To apply, submit your course application and personal statement via the university's online portal. For more details, contact [email protected].

Find Out More

LIVED EXPERIENCE

Celebrating Queer Disabled stories

This Pride Month, YoungMinds celebrates the joy, resilience, and voices of queer disabled young people through powerful first-person stories. In a climate of divisive media and exclusionary rulings, the newsletter calls for unity, visibility, and action reminding us that every part of our identity deserves celebration. From challenging the exam system to highlighting mental health headlines, this update centres young people's lived experiences and the power of collective change.

Read

NEWS AND INITIATIVES

The pandemic generation: How Covid-19 lockdowns is having a long-lasting effect on children

7th June 2025

The BBC Future article "The Pandemic Generation" explores how Covid-19 has left a lasting impact on children, from disrupted education and delayed social development to rising mental health concerns. Prolonged isolation and school closures led to significant learning losses, particularly in maths and science, with recovery proving slow and uneven. The emotional toll has also been profound, with increased anxiety and behavioural issues reported across age groups. Experts warn these effects could echo into adulthood, potentially reducing future earnings and widening inequalities unless urgent, targeted support is provided.

Read

BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Black Women, Trauma and Therapy: Revolutionising therapeutic thought and practice

This groundbreaking collection showcases the growing strength and influence of Black women’s therapy in the UK, bringing together leading theorists and practitioners to share radical, intersectional approaches to mental health. Covering topics from childlessness and maternal health to transgenerational trauma, self-care, and African-centred healing, the book challenges traditional therapeutic models to better reflect the lived realities of Black women. Inspired by the 2022 Community Trauma UK conference, it is a bold and essential resource for mental health professionals committed to equity and transformation.

Purchase

VIDEOS WEBINARS AND PODCASTS

Webinar: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) – What is the government’s response so far?

The Survivors Trust recently hosted a webinar titled “The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA): What Is the Government’s Response So Far?”, examining how the government has acted or fallen short on IICSA’s final report from October 2022. The session spotlighted key recommendations, such as establishing a Child Protection Authority and mandating reporting, and assessed progress since publication of the government’s response in May 2023, which officially accepted all but one of IICSA’s findings

Speakers highlighted delays in implementation and ongoing delays from the Home Office, emphasising that, despite formal acceptance, many reforms have yet to materialise.

Watch

A DOT OF INSPIRATION

Keith Jarrett - "A Gay Poem"

As we celebrate Pride 2025, let’s shine a light on Keith Jarrett, a remarkable London poet, performer, and educator whose work powerfully interlaces identity, queerness, race, and cultural heritage. Keith Jarrett’s “A Gay Poem” is a bold, witty spoken-word anthem that begins with the question, “Do you have a gay poem?” A question Jarrett initially resists, but as the poem speaks back, it asserts itself, refusing to be boxed in or silenced.

Watch

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Disclaimer: News for Action is a collection of initiatives and information shared by members and collaborators of the London ACEs Hub (LAH).

The LAH is an independent and non-partisan network and the opinions here presented might not represent the LAH. All items included in this newsletter aim to promote constructive discussion as well as personal and collective development.

Photos by Roy James Shakespeare

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