This year's conference will be more interactive than ever, with breakout sessions taking place throughout the day. The sessions will give you opportunity to network and hear from experts in violence prevention.
You will be able to select one session in the morning and one session in the afternoon.
Morning Breakout Sessions
A) How Trauma can Impact us at Work and What You can do to Manage That: Learning from Research in Alternative Education Provision
Facilitators: Dr Victoria Burton: University of Hull (Principal Investigator Humber VPP Evaluation Team) | Josmi Puthettu Jose: Principal Investigator: Vicarious Trauma Project | Dr LJ Ducksbury (Educational and Child Psychologist)
Vicarious Trauma (VT) is an occupational hazard connected to the development of empathic relationships with individuals who have experienced trauma. The evaluation team at the University of Hull have undertaken research around staff awareness and understanding of VT. From this learning, the project is developing a training package for staff and leaders to identify support mechanisms and mitigate the impact of VT on the workforce.
B) Youth Voice Across the Humber
Facilitators: Becky Todd, Youth Engagement Lead at Eski | John Gilbert, CEO of Eski | Chloe Hunter, Youth Voice Research Assistant at the Humber VPP
An essential function of the Humber VPP is to ensure the voice of children and young people is captured, heard and embedded in how we respond to preventing violence. We have been working locally to develop a mechanism to do this, acknowledging the abundance of youth engagement that is already taking place across the Humber region.
This breakout session provides an opportunity for partners to preview the work we have done so far and to help shape a more coordinated and collaborative approach to youth voice ensuring that even small-scale engagement contributes to system-wide understanding.
We will be testing the proposed approach of an online repository designed to share youth voice insights, exploring how it could support two-way communication, inform services and commissioning, and highlight emerging trends affecting young people.
C) Breaking Barriers: The Health Gospel CIC
Facilitator: Dr Idee Charles (The Health Gospel CIC) | Thelma Lancelot-Hairwadzi
This workshop draws on the findings and methodology of the Breaking Barriers project - a community-led public health initiative delivered across Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Hull between 2025 and 2026, in partnership and funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside. The project engaged over 700 women across the Humber region (with over 500 reached in Grimsby and Hull alone), through a series of wellbeing sessions embedded within trusted community and faith settings.
The session will explore why BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) women experiencing domestic abuse remain largely invisible to statutory services, and what partners can do individually and collectively to change this.
Key themes:
- The compounding barriers BAME women face: immigration and ‘no recourse to public funds’, religion, family honour, and community judgement
- The Breaking Barriers methodology: Why framing sessions around wellbeing (not domestic abuse) is the key to reaching hidden women
- The role of every partner across police, NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector in recognising, exploring, reassuring and referring
- How this work aligns with and supports delivery of the Serious Violence Duty
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the specific barriers that prevent BAME women from disclosing domestic abuse
- Apply a wellbeing-first approach within their own service or agency
- Understand their responsibilities under the Serious Violence Duty in relation to VAWG (violence against women and girls)
- Know the key local and national referral pathways for BAME women in the Humber
- Leave with a clear call to action for their agency
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
A) Building a Community Alliance to Prevent Violence in Humberside
Facilitator: Pip Betts, Programme Manager at the Humber VPP
This interactive breakout session will explore how communities, organisations, and public services across the Humber region can work together to develop a long-term community alliance focused on preventing violence and improving outcomes for young people and communities. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute ideas, share local insight, and help shape what a meaningful and effective alliance could look like in the local area.
The session will be particularly relevant for community and voluntary organisations, youth practitioners, schools and colleges, local authorities, health partners, police and community safety teams, and anyone interested in collaborative, community-led approaches to violence prevention and early intervention.
B) Violence Prevention Youth Health Champions
Facilitators: Dawn Foster, Founder of We Do Wellbeing | Shane Davy, Hull Training Hub and Co-tutor of the Violence Prevention Youth Health Champions
Over the past year, the Humber VPP has worked with We Do Wellbeing to develop and pilot a new Level 2 qualification for Youth Health Champions specialising in public health approaches to violence prevention and reduction. The qualification is accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and has helped the Youth Health Champions to create their own campaigns to tackle the issues that are important to them.
In this session, you will get to hear from the group about how they have developed as Youth Health Champions, the campaigns they have developed and the impact that the training has had. We will also be sharing findings from the evaluation of the pilot and outlining plans to expand the programme.
C) Being Seen - Local Insights into Inclusion Health
Facilitators: Sarah Clinch, Senior Partnerships and Strategy Manager at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust | Mike Nicholson, Public Health Senior Officer for Addictions & Inclusion Health at East Riding of Yorkshire Council
People from inclusion health groups experience some of the poorest health outcomes of any part of our society, far exceeding that of people from the most deprived communities of England. The inequality of outcomes among inclusion groups is extreme. This includes people who are in contact with the criminal justice system, who experience homelessness, addiction and exploitation, and groups such as the traveller community who experience widespread discrimination.
The session will explore insights into how people from inclusion groups experience statutory services. While these experiences are often characterised by mistrust, barriers to access and fragmentation, research from across the Humber region also highlights the difference that can be made through services based on trust, community and co-ordination that help people rebuild their lives.
