Safe Access

Safe Access: Fostering positive wellbeing for diverse heritage freelancers

Safe Access is an inclusion-focused project funded by the Heritage Innovation Fund, created by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). Having successfully completed the ‘Explore’ and ‘Test’ phases, we are now embarking on the third and final ‘Grow’ phase, a two-year £250k programme that focuses on embedding wellbeing and a Trauma Informed Approach within heritage settings, so that people from marginalised backgrounds can engage safely with sensitive collections and stories. 

The key aims of Safe Access are to: 

• Develop a Wellbeing Framework: This resource, based on the Phase 2 draft framework built around the needs of freelancers and developed through the learnings and experiences of the cohort organisations, will support and enable heritage organisations to centre wellbeing, understanding, and compassion for lived experiences to improve how freelancers, staff, visitors and volunteers from marginalised communities experience museums and heritage, particularly sensitive collections and histories.  

• Build a community: We aim to create the nucleus of a network of museums and heritage organisations dedicated to embedding wellbeing-focused and trauma-informed approaches in all aspects of their work. 

• Develop recommendations for the sector and funders: the project, cohort, and steering group will make sector-level suggestions for protecting workforce and other people from marginalised communities within museums and heritage. 

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