Who are Waltham Forest?

Waltham Forest is a borough of circa 300,000 people in North East London. The Public Health Team at Waltham Forest Council was established with the aim of improving overall health for its residents and reducing health inequalities across generations and cultures. It works closely with the health and social care systems to ensure that everyone can access support and advice.

The following teams attended NAPAC’s training:

• CGL, the local drug and alcohol treatment and recovery service
• NHS homeless health and mental health rough sleeper services
• Waltham Forest Council housing and rough sleeping teams
• Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter

 

How did we work together?

NAPAC delivered interactive, in-person training to 21 Waltham Forest employees on trauma-informed practice. The training was tailored to apply trauma-informed approaches to working with rough-sleepers and people with substance misuse needs, with the intention of Waltham Forest improving outcomes for their clients, whilst safeguarding their own staff’s mental wellbeing.

Two one-day courses offered employees the opportunity to gain a comprehensive grounding in the effects of trauma and how they may manifest, carrying out role-play to address particularly difficult situations and developing personal self-care strategies to bolster their own emotional resilience.

94% of staff were ‘Very Likely’ to recommend NAPAC’s training to colleagues.

72% of staff rated the overall course content as ‘excellent’, with the remainder of attendees rating the content as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

 

 

What did Waltham Forest think?

‘This was one of the best training sessions I have ever been involved in. Thank you Jon and Holly!’

 

‘This course has helped me to understand that I need to have clinical discussions at times, particularly when going through challenging situations.’

 

‘There was so much detail and I have learned so much, all aspects were helpful to understanding trauma. This training should be mandatory across social care services.’

 

‘I’ve definitely picked up new points that will help me perform my duties more effectively. I’ve also learned new ways of de-stressing and switching off from work at the end of the day.’

 

‘The training has helped me to effectively deal with trauma presented by clients, but also to establish strong personal boundaries.’

 

‘I’ve learned to be kinder to myself, to recognize that we are all doing our best despite limited resources, and I now have a better knowledge of stress at work and how to alleviate it.’