Support for staff and allies affected by recent events
This page contains links to resources to support staff and organisations across the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership. We will update it when we get new information or resources.
Our staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub have developed a UK Unrest Support handbook, which includes details about how to look after yourself, reporting, signposting and more.
Wellbeing
- The Partnership’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub is available to everyone across West Yorkshire working in health and care services, including voluntary, community, social enterprise sector colleagues.
- There is advice here on managing your mental health during challenging times.
- There is also information about talking to young people about racism and mental health: Racism and mental health | How To Deal With Racism | YoungMinds
- Inclusive Companies: supporting employees during times of racial unrest
Safety
- If you are running a face to face meeting, check with attendees if they have any concerns about the location itself or travelling to/from the location.
- Look for opportunities to prevent people who are feeling vulnerable from travelling on their own (this might be walking together in groups or changing the location to somewhere that feels safer for colleagues)
- Risk assessments could be offered to staff in the community.
- Avoiding staff attending unfamiliar bases for meetings in other areas.
- Consider attending training online if possible.
- If you hear from a trusted and reliable source (please see below) that a demonstration is taking place, avoid the area or stay in your home until you are sure that it's safe to go out
- If you come across a demonstration, don't become inquisitive, just leave the area and find another route to your intended destination
- Should you need to go to an area which experiences a lot of demonstrations, try not to go alone. Where possible take someone with you and operate as a team looking out for each other. Keep close and maintain visual contact
- Avoid any place where police or security force action is in progress.
- Staying Safe amidst Far Right violence
Trusted information
Please do not add to the distress and fear that people are feeling by sharing misinformation and please always remember to act and speak with dignity and respect for all.
- West Yorkshire Police (WYP) are working closely with all key partner agencies, including the ICB, to plan for and manage the risks around potential public disorder in West Yorkshire.
- Over recent days a lot of misinformation has been spread, particularly through social media and other messaging platforms, about planned gatherings and demonstrations – the majority of which have not materialised.
- Arrangements have been put in place for partner agencies to share information and intelligence with each other in each place, to help overcome such disinformation.
- The Integrated Care Board will be advised directly by the Police of any actual incidents or potential incidents and this will be shared as required via the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response team.
- Please see this cyber security centre website for tips on identifying misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.
- UK riots fact checked: latest updates and key questions answered
Reporting incidents
If you experience, witness or have been involved in a hate crime you can report it through West Yorkshire Police. Reporting makes a difference – to you, your friends, and your life. If you see a crime that is in progress or if someone is in immediate danger, please call 999 without hesitation.
Stop Hate UK supports individuals and communities who have been impacted by hate crime. Any incidents of hate crime can also be reported here Report all Hate Crime - Stop Hate UK.
Support is also available from Tell Mama, a confidential support service for those suffering from anti-Muslim hate and discrimination across the UK. Their website features a number of different ways to report anti-Muslim incidents, including via phone or WhatsApp: Report in Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia (tellmamauk.org). The site also hosts useful resources, including on mosque security.
Resources for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector
In West Yorkshire, we are proud to have around 14,000 vibrant and diverse voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, often working at the heart of communities facing the greatest inequalities creating hope, unity and bringing people together. We are a system of sanctuary, an anti-racist system that has consistently stood for what’s right. We see our diversity as our strength, and we will always stand against those who seek to undermine our people and our communities and our diverse VCSE sector has always been a symbol of this.
Recently, across the country, we have seen racist and Islamophobic violence, aggression and intimidation. These aren’t ‘protests’ or ‘marches’. VCSE organisations are not immune from becoming targets or being affected by this and we know that VCSE leaders are having challenging conversations and making difficult decisions in how they work to keep their staff, volunteers, beneficiaries and communities safe.
To support with this, in addition to the useful resources on this page, please find below:
- A useful set of practical self-assessment questions you can ask in your organisation to assess, review and respond to risk from the far-right unrest
- A template briefing note that you may want to use and adapt internally for your staff and volunteers
You might also find it useful to look at the following national websites focused on the VCSE sector that has some additional resources:
As well as the following from Protect UK:
- Counter Terrorism Crime Prevention Toolkit aimed at small organisations. It contains helpful, low-cost solutions to deter crime and counter terrorism (e.g. making it difficult to gain access to premises, increasing chance of detection and reducing access to contents and victims)
- A 5-step process for risk management and how to develop a security culture
- E-learning package for developing understanding and practice in this area and Run Hide Tell guidance
Other useful resources
- Email signature (showing your support)
- Teams background (showing your support)
- City of Sanctuary useful links:
- Can You See Me? podcasts
The Race Equality Network at Yorkshire Ambulance Service recently produced this video about understanding the impact of recent incidents on colleagues: