EdShift

09/10/2026

HALF TERM WORKSHOP!

🎨 What does your safe space look like? 💗

This October half-term, we're inviting children and young people to get creative at our next HeARTs & Crafts workshop: Creating Safe Spaces!

Join Casey and Gemma for an afternoon of movement, imagination, improv games and art-making as we explore what it means to feel safe and create spaces where we feel comfortable and happy.

And there's something extra special about this workshop...

✨ The artwork created will have the opportunity to feature in 'Through the Eyes of a Child', our upcoming exhibition at Dean Clough this November.

📅 Tuesday 27th October
⏰ 1pm–3pm
📍 EdShift YouthBase, 7 Harrison Road, Halifax

Come along, get creative and be part of something special!

Book your place: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hearts-crafts-creating-safe-spaces-tickets-2003146970512

07/10/2026

Support a child like Jacob.

After fleeing domestic abuse with his mum and siblings, Jacob came to EdShift feeling anxious, unsettled and finding it difficult to trust others.

At first, he communicated almost entirely through creativity.

He built monsters, created imaginary worlds and used art to express things he wasn’t yet ready to put into words.

Over time, those stories began to change.

Destruction became trees.
Chaos became protected spaces.
And Jacob began exploring kindness, safety and trust.

With the support of one of our trusted therapists, he was eventually able to begin talking about frightening memories and understand that what had happened was never his responsibility.

For children affected by domestic abuse, creative support can provide a safe way to process experiences, rebuild confidence and begin to feel safe again.

Your donation helps make that support possible.

💛 £10 could help build a BraveBox
🎨 £25 could fund art & wellbeing resources
💗 £50 could support trauma-informed creative sessions
🌱 £100 could fund an early intervention SpotLight session

Help us support more children like Jacob.

Donate here: edshift.co.uk/donate
Read Jacob's story here: https://edshift.co.uk/impact-story/jacobs-story/

Jacob’s name and identifying details have been changed to protect his privacy.

25/09/2026

Recovery doesn’t stop when a support session ends. 💛

For children and families affected by domestic abuse, recovery can also be supported by the things that happen in between; having somewhere safe and familiar to return to, trusted people who remember you, opportunities to connect and create, and practical help when everyday pressures become overwhelming.

At EdShift, this wider support is an important part of what we do.

From emergency food and travel support to creative activities, In Touch, community events and simply having a place to belong at the YouthBase, these things can all help children and families stay connected and supported.

Our latest blog explores why recovery is about more than formal programmes, and why practical help, relationships and community matter too.

💛 The Support Around Recovery: Practical Help, Connection and Community

Read the full blog on our website: https://edshift.co.uk/the-support-around-recovery-practical-help-connection-and-community/

Recovery from domestic abuse rarely fits neatly into a support session. Children may need specialist help to process what they have experienced and rebuild trust and a sense of safety. But recovery also happens alongside everyday life, when families may be worrying about food, heating, travel or jus...

23/09/2026

This November, we invite you to see the world Through the Eyes of a Child.

Over the past few months, children and young people have been creating artwork through our HeARTs & Crafts workshops. On Friday 27th November, those pieces will come together in a special exhibition at Crossley Gallery, Dean Clough, Halifax.

Created by children and young people affected by domestic abuse, the exhibition is an opportunity for their creativity, perspectives and voices to be seen and heard.

Taking place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the exhibition also asks us to recognise the experiences of children affected by domestic abuse and the importance of giving them safe ways to express themselves.

📅 Friday 27th November 2026
📅 4:30pm - 6:30pm
📍 Dean Clough, Halifax

Through the Eyes of a Child
Their stories. Their art. Their voice.

Kindly Supported by Covea Insurance

Book your place on our website. - https://edshift.co.uk/events/

17/09/2026

Our first HeARTs & Crafts workshop took place a couple of weeks ago at our YouthBase. We saw plenty of paint, Posca pens, collage, colour, creativity, smiling faces and one very special giant heart.

Working alongside local artist Sylvia Maria Pearson, children transformed the 3D heart with their own drawings, doodles, messages and ideas, turning it into a completely unique collaborative artwork.

Make Your Mark was the first of four HeARTs & Crafts workshops taking place in the run-up to Through the Eyes of a Child, our exhibition at Dean Clough this November. Details to follow.

The exhibition will bring together artwork created by children and young people affected by domestic abuse, giving their creativity, perspectives and voices a space to be seen and heard.

A huge thank you to Sylvia for helping us bring our first idea to life and to all our young artists who well and truly made their mark. 💗

Keep an eye out for details of our next HeARTs & Crafts workshop coming soon. 👀🎨

15/09/2026

Today we were honoured to welcome Lord Lieutenant Professor Adeeba Malik CBE DL, alongside Virginia Lloyd DL, Steve Duncan DL and Tim Cole DL, to the EdShift Youthbase.

It was a wonderful opportunity to show our visitors around the YouthBase, talk about the important work happening here and to share information about the experiences of children and young people affected by domestic abuse.

Our CEO, Ellie Brook Elle Bee, gave a powerful presentation exploring the wider context of domestic abuse, the impact of the trauma from witnessing domestic abuse can have on children, and how EdShift’s creative approaches help children to process their experiences, rebuild their sense of safety and find their voice.

We were joined by our Chair, Kate Adamson, Trustee Helen Jones (Antworks Community), members of our SpotLight practitioner team and our Programme Lead, giving our visitors the opportunity to hear about EdShift from different perspectives across the organisation.

What made the visit particularly meaningful was the conversations that followed. It was fantastic to have a genuinely engaging discussion around the challenges children face, the importance of early support and the role organisations like EdShift can play in helping children recover from trauma.

We’re very grateful to Professor Malik, Virginia, Steve and Tim for taking the time to visit, listen and learn more about our work.

💛

11/09/2026

This October, you're invited to our Halloween Party for children and families! 🖤🎃

📅 Thursday 29 October
⏰ 1:00–2:30pm
📍 EdShift YouthBase, 7 Harrison Road, Halifax
🎟️ Free to attend

There’ll be lots of spooky fun taking place across YouthBase, including:

🕺 A spooky dancing workshop
🖤 A Co**se Bride-inspired tree decoration workshop
🎨 Tim Burton-themed creative activities
🍿 Light snacks and refreshments
🎁 A take-home gift for every child

Fancy dress is encouraged, and there’ll be a prize for the best costume! 🏆

This event is being made possible through the Calderdale Crisis and Resilience Fund, supported by Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority .

Book your place here - https://edshift.co.uk/events/

09/09/2026

We’re delighted to share that EdShift has secured £10,000 through the Calderdale Crisis and Resilience Fund from Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

This funding will make a real, practical difference to the children and families we support.

This fund will help us to provide:

🛍️ Emergency food bags worth around £30 each
🚌 Support with travel
🔥 Gas and electricity top-ups
🥪 Food for YouthBase, In Touch and other sessions
🎨 Additional activities for children and families

And alongside that essential support, there’s some seasonal fun on the way too including Halloween and Christmas celebrations for children and families accessing our programmes. 🎃🎄

We’ll be sharing more about those very soon! Keep your eye out!

A huge thank you to Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority for helping us provide support where it’s needed most.

07/09/2026

This beauty of this spider’s web caught our eye.

A spider works so hard to create a safe home, and every thread is connected.

A child’s wellbeing is similar. Feelings of safety, happiness, connection, confidence and belonging do not exist in isolation.

When one area is under strain, it can affect the whole.

For many of us, home is where we expect to feel safest.

Children don't have control over their surroundings.

What we can do is surround children with trusted adults and help them develop tools to understand their feelings, recognise what safety feels like and know where they can turn for support.

At EdShift, one of the creative tools we use is the Wellbeing Web. Children are supported to reflect on different areas of their wellbeing including how happy and safe they feel. This creates a gentle, visual starting point for conversations and helps us understand where support may be needed most. We also use it to track progress and effectiveness of our pathways.

Wellbeing is built from multiple threads and it grows through safety, connection, and support.

04/09/2026

60 minutes on the clock. A door closed behind us. We had codes to crack, puzzles to solve and hidden clues to uncover. 🔐⏳

Yesterday, we took on The Escaporium challenge as part of an EdShift team day.

As well as putting our problem-solving skills to the test, it gave us an important opportunity to step away from our usual roles, spend time together and practise the things that make a strong team: communication, listening, trust, creative thinking and pulling together under pressure.

Making space to laugh, connect and strengthen relationships matters when you’re working in our field.

There were plenty of clues, a few head-scratching moments and lots of laughs along the way!

Thank you to The Escaporium for putting us through our paces.

The Piece Hall