Blogs & conversations - The Churchill Fellowship
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Blogs & conversations

Churchill Fellows offer their views and advice on topical issues, based on global research and UK activities.

To connect with a Fellow, please go to their Profile page. To find related content, click the tag under each item below. To receive regular blog alerts, sign up at the foot of this page.

If you are a Fellow and would like to write a blog for us, please email communications@churchillfellowship.org to discuss the topic you have in mind.

Blogs & conversations

It takes a village: trauma-responsive communities are pivotal to addressing youth violence

Through her Churchill Fellowship, Ruth Oshikanlu explored youth violence as a public health and trauma crisis, rather than simply a criminal justice issue. Travelling to the USA and Australia, she learned from police officers, nurses, teachers, psychologists, community healers, young people, families, and Indigenous Elders about what it takes to build trauma-responsive systems. She is now using this learning to develop a Trauma-Responsive Community Network in her local borough, bringing together those who work with children and young people to create safer, more connected support.

By Ruth Oshikanlu, 27 August 2026

Blogs & conversations

It takes a village: trauma-responsive communities are pivotal to addressing youth violence

Through her Churchill Fellowship, Ruth Oshikanlu explored youth violence as a public health and trauma crisis, rather than simply a criminal justice issue. Travelling to the USA and Australia, she learned from police officers, nurses, teachers, psychologists, community healers, young people, families, and Indigenous Elders about what it takes to build trauma-responsive systems. She is now using this learning to develop a Trauma-Responsive Community Network in her local borough, bringing together those who work with children and young people to create safer, more connected support.

By Ruth Oshikanlu, 27 August 2026

Blogs & conversations

In conversation with Melvin Hartley: Harnessing the power of spontaneous volunteers

We spoke to Melvin Hartley about how his Churchill Fellowship helped him put spontaneous volunteering into practice during the Covid pandemic and beyond. After travelling to the USA to explore how volunteers are organised in response to disasters, Melvin returned to the UK just as lockdown began and used his learning to coordinate community support in Hampshire. His Fellowship also helped shape HYPER (Hampshire Young People’s Emergency Response), showing how older teenagers can play an active role in emergency response.

By Melvin Hartley, 20 August 2026

Blogs & conversations

Counting women, ending homelessness

Sarah Walters reflects on how her Churchill Fellowship learning from the USA and Canada continues to shape her work to end women’s homelessness in the UK. Her visits showed the power of gender-informed, trauma-aware services designed around women’s experiences, from specialist housing to support that helps women rebuild their lives. She shares how this learning informed a women-only respite hotel as part of Crisis at Christmas 2025, and how it continues to inspire change in services for women experiencing homelessness.

By Sarah Walters, 6 August 2026

Blogs & conversations

In conversation with Natasha Cox: Learning leads to new creative Saturday school for Black boys

We spoke to Natasha Cox about how her Churchill Fellowship helped shape the next stage of Actively SeeK.I.N.G, the CIC she founded to support Black boys through creative arts. Drawing on learning from schools in the USA, Ghana, and the Caribbean, Natasha has launched the House of K.I.N.G.s Saturday School. She reflects on how the Fellowship deepened her work, opened new doors, and helped turn her research into practical support for young people in East London.

By Natasha Cox, 10 July 2026

Blogs & conversations

Backing individuals as changemakers

2026 has seen the Churchill Fellowship launch its first new major grant programme for 60 years. The Activate Fund has been designed to enable individual changemakers to turn ideas into action, benefiting communities right across the UK. Abigail Campbell, Head of Activate, shares the journey.

Blogs & conversations

Following curiosity towards lasting change

Following her Fellowship across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, Clare Holdsworth reflects on how paid lived-experience roles can support care-experienced young people to shape services, policy, and practice. Drawing on conversations with organisations, professionals, and young people, she explores what it takes to make these roles psychologically safe, meaningful, and supportive of long-term careers. She is now sharing this learning in Sheffield, using curiosity as a way to ask better questions with young people, not just about them.

By Clare Holdsworth, 18 June 2026

Blogs & conversations

In conversation with Ali Zafar: Redefining financial literacy and shaping policy

We spoke to Ali Zafar about how his Fellowship is shaping new approaches to financial education in the UK. After already founding LifeSmart, Ali used his Fellowship to explore why financial literacy remains low, learning from systems in Singapore, Vietnam, and Bali. His research has led to a new framework for understanding how financial capability develops, and has already informed updates to his work and contributions to UK policy discussions. Ali is now finalising his report and developing resources to share his findings across government, charities, and the private sector.

By Ali Zafar, 18 May 2026

Blogs & conversations

The shared legacy supporting kinship carers

We spoke to Lucy Peake, Churchill Fellow and CEO of Kinship, about how her Fellowship is shaping support for kinship carers in the UK. Travelling to the USA, she explored kinship navigator programmes and found strong parallels with Kinship Connected, the support model developed by her organisation. Her learning is now informing new trials and partnerships, with the aim of building stronger evidence and securing long-term investment in kinship care – helping to shape a more consistent, better-supported system for kinship families.

By Lucy Peake, 30 April 2026

Blogs & conversations

What it Takes to Build Trauma-Responsive Systems

After her Fellowship exploring trauma, attachment, and ACEs, Jane Pepa reflects on what it takes to move from trauma-informed training to real system change. Through her work with the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, she has supported over 12,000 public service staff, from education to policing, to better understand and respond to trauma. Now working to embed trauma-responsive approaches across systems in Merseyside, she shares how this learning is being applied in practice through collaboration and ongoing support.

By Jane Pepa, 16 April 2026

Blogs & conversations

What it Takes to Build Trauma-Responsive Systems

After her Fellowship exploring trauma, attachment, and ACEs, Jane Pepa reflects on what it takes to move from trauma-informed training to real system change. Through her work with the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, she has supported over 12,000 public service staff, from education to policing, to better understand and respond to trauma. Now working to embed trauma-responsive approaches across systems in Merseyside, she shares how this learning is being applied in practice through collaboration and ongoing support.

By Jane Pepa, 16 April 2026

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