Read Heart of Help | Read Executive Summary

How can we create the right conditions for people to be supported in a relational way?

Heart of Help is a report that gathers people’s real-life views and experiences, alongside findings from focus groups, to ask this key question.

The aim of the report was to explore the understanding and experiences of the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework from the perspective of people with lived experience of using substances or seeking sanctuary.

We were delighted to work with Welsh Refugee Council, who conducted the literature search for people seeking sanctuary, and coordinated focus groups and interviews. We were also pleased to have support from GDAS, who helped us with interviews and focus groups for people they support.

Our findings underlined what we have long seen ourselves at Platfform: that the system is not currently working in a way that makes it easy for practitioners to be vulnerable, reflective, or to offer the holistic support that people want and need.

Platfform was commissioned by Traumatic Stress Wales (TSW), in collaboration with ACE Hub Wales, to support the delivery and implementation commitments of the Trauma Informed Wales Framework.

This report was made possible through the support of the New System Alliance, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

What’s your commitment to change? If Heart of Help has resonated with you after reading, please tell us what commitments to change you’d like to make that will help you and the systems you operate in work in a way that prioritises love, warmth and human connection. Share your thoughts here. 

Paper copies: if you’d like a physical copy of the report, please get in touch with commsteam@platfform.org

Partners involved in creating this report:

Traumatic Stress Wales

ACE HUB Wales

Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service

Welsh Refugee Council

New System Alliance

Implementing the Heart of Help

After A Heart of Help was published, Platfform approached Cymorth Cymru to facilitate additional work to further explore how to embed a relational approach in substance use services. Concurrent work was undertaken by the Welsh Refugee Council regarding services for people seeking sanctuary.

A Heart of Help – Further exploration of embedding relational values in the delivery of substance use services report, by Alex Osmond and Jordan Brewer, Cymorth Cymru, in partnership with the Third Sector Substance Use Network and the Frontline Network Wales, includes the perspectives of members of the networks and their colleagues. This was undertaken through focus groups with staff who have direct experience of supporting people with alcohol or substance use issues, giving them the chance to comment and reflect on the relational values and their implementation.

Report – Next Steps for Building Trauma-Informed Support for Sanctuary Seekers by Sabiha Azad, Sanctuary Coalition Cymru Coordinator, shares findings from focus group discussions with individuals who have lived experience of seeking sanctuary, highlighting nuanced challenges and practical methods for implementing trauma-informed practices in Wales.