WOMEN in Bradford are overcoming trauma from domestic abuse and sexual violence and healing through the art of breadmaking.
Millside Centre, on Grattan Street, Bradford, started the initiative in October 2022, as part of the befriending service the centre offers to refugees and asylum seekers.
This service is specifically for women who have suffered from Domestic Abuse, sexual violence or have been through any trauma, but are now at the recovering and healing stage.
- Interested in local family events and activities, and want to connect with other local families? Join our new Bradford Families Facebook group
Ella Betts, Befriending Coordinator at Millside Centre, said: “We started the befriending service in May 2021 and were giving up our time to help asylum seekers and refugees who were very isolated during lockdown due to being digitally unequipped.
“My background is in domestic abuse and sexual abuse support and I started looking into the art of breadmaking and the therapeutic impacts of it and how to use it to get through trauma.”
The programme has been funded by the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Safer Communities Fund, with a contribution from the Asda Foundation.
The programme runs every week and women have the opportunity of making bread and use the time to work through their trauma and stay in the moment.
“We really focus on the senses whilst making the bread, when we’re kneading we think about all the muscles that are being used and what that feels like, we smell the bread and watch as the colour changes when we add ingredients as well as how the texture of the dough changes.
“Every week we do a different bread recipe, and we have themes that we cover, one theme is connecting, where we connect with our senses.
“We use distraction techniques and focus on being active, looking at what our fingers and hands are doing when we’re doing all the different stages, whether that be pummelling the dough or kneading it.
"Whilst the bread is baking in the oven, the group sits down with a cup of tea and spends some time reflecting on the session and journaling some of the techniques and processes they have learnt.
“We bring it back to the theme of the week; for example ‘taking notice’ and consider how we can use the grounding techniques we have practised in our daily lives to continue to process trauma.”
This is a personal reflection for the women, who are each provided with a journal on their first session and this enables them to keep reflecting on their journey and progress as the weeks go on.
The sessions are available to any woman who is recovering from trauma and more information can be found on the Millside Centres Website or by contacting ebetts@millsidecentre.org.
Want Bradford’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox each morning? Sign up to our newsletter to get our daily bulletin.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.
Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk or contact us here or call us on 01274 705292.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here