Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has been bolstered by a new public health lead with more than 20 years’ experience as a Chief Officer and senior manager in NHS and local government, focusing predominantly on public health and inequalities.
Professor Helen Lowey has been appointed to help drive forward the VRU’s public health approach to reducing serious violence. This includes leading an ambitious programme of change for communities and the workforce to make Greater Manchester a more trauma-responsive city-region.
Helen has previously held a national role as a Civil Servant leading on preventing childhood adversity and trauma and led Bolton through the emergency response work during the COVID-19 pandemic whilst continuing to drive her ambition to modernise public health in Bolton.
Helen’s passion is to reduce inequalities, she has led the development of various multi-agency strategies including accident prevention, suicide prevention and mental wellbeing, violence prevention, and substance misuse, ensuring that a whole system approach is taken as well as leading local policy changes and public health commissioning.
Helen received the Faculty of Public Health’s President Gold Medal for her Inspirational Leadership during 2021.
Professor Helen Lowey, Consultant Public Health, said: “I am thrilled to take up this opportunity to support the VRU and partners to deliver a public health approach to reducing violence and inequalities across Greater Manchester.
“I am keen to listen to the voices of our residents and use relevant data to inform our approach and interventions. I look forward to working with the team and partners to strengthen the VRU’s understanding of the factors that contribute to violence and how these can be addressed.”
The Greater Manchester VRU, set up in October 2019, works closely with academics, health and education professionals and community leaders, to provide insight into the problem of violence in our city-region and to work with communities to provide solutions.
