Camden and Islington Trauma-Informed Network is the collective effort of people with lived experience and those in roles across sectors. We formed in June 2021 with a shared interest to connect the disparate trauma-informed approaches across the system and create a shared language and approach. We advocate for trauma-informed approaches that are rooted in the wider system. We do this by bringing people together and connecting conversations because we believe that we are stronger together and need representation of the many, not the few.

Developing Our Network Purpose and Principles
Our common purpose was developed in our working group, we recognised that we were all talking about being trauma-informed without yet knowing what each of us meant. We shared our many and varied definitions of trauma (and trauma-informed) and ways of being that embody the approach. We also considered why we wanted to work in this way, what we hoped to achieve and how we planned to work together. We came to see how each person’s contribution represented a unique worldview, relationship to the system and an experience of trauma which shape beliefs around how we should approach trauma as a collective.

The views, words and sentiments expressed through those activities have entirely shaped our common purpose (who we are)...

Find our piece on our purpose, principles and understanding of trauma here.

Our Learnings So Far
We have created a record of our learning from setting up the network, mostly online and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a map of the stages we moved through from inception and over our first year working together. We are sharing our story to support others who might be interested in getting started but feel overwhelmed by the task and unsure where to start. We have been there! This document is our encouragement to you to get started.

In our learning document we detail our key messages, timeline of our learning process (see below), our common purpose, our understanding of trauma, the need for co-production and our learnings, and reflections from members in the network.

We exist because of traumatic life experiences and needing to do better by one another. Any celebration and recognition of the work contained here needs to honour that. What we have jointly created as a network has been made possible through compassion, commitment, a desire to learn and grow and courage to join something new, forming and unknown. Change is slow and difficult but together we can achieve and know so much more.

The end of this guide is the beginning of the network’s second year. We intend to grow and be strengthened by new members and new opportunities to influence the system.

Download Our Learnings So Far here.

If you'd like to learn more, or have any questions, please email SHP's Mental Health Lead Michelle Butterly ([email protected]) who will be continuing to lead this work.