We Are ATR Officially Launched

Sally Lee
Jul 13
3 min read

Updated: Jul 18

After weeks of planning, countless conversations and a few late nights, it was quite a moment to finally stand in a room and say: "We Are ATR is officially here".

On Thursday 2nd July, we officially launched We Are ATR Ltd at The Terrace, Wellington Place. After weeks of planning, countless conversations and a few late nights, it was quite a moment to finally stand in a room and say: "We Are ATR is officially here".

The evening exceeded anything we could have hoped for. We were joined by people from across the corporate, commercial, public and voluntary sectors, as well as friends, colleagues and partners who have supported our work over many years.

The room was full of warmth, laughter and a shared belief that how organisations respond to adversity, trauma and pressure really matters. There was also a particularly memorable moment when the rooftop terrace opened and almost everyone temporarily abandoned the networking room to enjoy the sunshine.

We couldn’t blame them. It was a very good terrace. And, of course, the buffet and wine did their part in keeping conversations flowing, always a reliable contributor to a successful launch.

Bringing the purpose of We Are ATR to life

Both Cat and Joanne helped bring the purpose of We Are ATR to life by talking about the importance of partnership, innovation and creating workplaces and systems that understand the impact of adversity and trauma.

It is one thing for Emmerline and I to talk about why we believe in this work. It is another to hear from people who have worked alongside us and seen what trauma responsive approaches can achieve in practice.

Building on strong foundations

We Are ATR builds on years of work through the West Yorkshire Adversity, Trauma and Resilience Programme.

Through that programme, more than 3,000 professionals were trained, and a network of over 700 partners was brought together across the region. We worked with organisations, leaders, workforces and communities to understand how adversity and trauma show up in everyday life and what can happen when organisations respond with greater awareness, evidence, skill and humanity.

We saw first hand that trauma responsive practice is not simply about attending a training course or adding another policy to the shared drive that nobody can find.

It is about culture.

It is about leadership.

It is about how people are treated when they are struggling, how services respond when someone is in distress and how organisations avoid unintentionally making difficult experiences even harder.

We did not want that learning, experience or network to disappear when the original programme ended.

So, We Are ATR was created.

How organisations can work with us

We are taking our experience and turning it into four practical ways organisations can work with us:

ATR Academy

Training, CPD and workforce development that helps people understand adversity, trauma and resilience and apply that learning confidently within their roles.

ATR Think

Evidence reviews, evaluation, research and lived experience insight to help organisations better understand the challenges they are facing and make informed decisions.

ATR Respond

Consultancy, organisational diagnostics and hands on implementation support, helping organisations move from good intentions to practical and measurable change.

ATR Membership

Ongoing learning, resources, connection and support for organisations committed to developing and sustaining trauma responsive approaches.

These offers can work separately, but they are strongest when combined.

Training can build knowledge, but organisations also need the structures, leadership and support to put that knowledge into practice. Research can identify what needs to change, but someone still needs to help make that change happen.

That is where we come in.

This is just the beginning

Launching We Are ATR felt like both a new beginning and a continuation of something we have spent years building. We are proud of where the work has come from, but we are equally excited about where it can go next.

If you are thinking about how adversity, trauma and resilience show up within your organisation, workforce, services or communities, we would love to talk. We offer a free initial conversation with no sales pitch, no awkward commitment and no mysterious package that suddenly costs three times more than expected. It is simply a chance to think through what is happening in your organisation, what may be driving it and what meaningful change could look like.

Thank you again to everyone who joined us, supported us, spoke on the evening or sent messages from afar.

We Are ATR is officially launched.

Now the real work begins.