Posted on: 25th July 2024

The West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership brings together key partners, including police, local government, education, health, and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations, across the region to create a multi-agency response to serious violence. We take a public health approach to serious violence, meaning we seek to understand the common risk factors driving violence and the protective factors preventing violence. Through our work, we actively engage with communities across West Yorkshire to respond to their needs and concerns.

Faith communities can and do play a key role in preventing serious violence as they are uniquely placed to reach and connect with individuals across our region. In February, over 100 representatives from faith communities joined our multi-faith event in Bradford collaborating to develop a co-ordinated response to serious violence.

Following the success of this event, we now want to move forward and work with faith communities and partners to build a Faith & Belief Toolkit for reducing serious violence. This toolkit will be built upon a sustainable, multi-agency, community-led network of faith communities and we hope this will harness and maximise the powerful position faith communities occupy to prevent and reduce violence.

Faith communities across the region are already doing amazing work which all contributes to the goal of reducing serious violence even if this is not their explicit intention. Running a foodbank, hosting a youth club, or providing a warm space all contribute to making people feel safe and included in their community, offering them somewhere to belong.

We know that individuals working within their communities are best placed to educate us on the issues faced as well as share the initiatives and best practice already taking place so we can actively celebrate this work. We hope this is an exciting opportunity to co-create, in partnership with the VRP, the first Faith & Belief Toolkit for serious violence in West Yorkshire. If you are interested in being part of this project, please get in touch!

Lydia Isherwood
Research & Evaluation Specialist
Lydia.isherwood@westyorks-ca.gov.uk