A Response to the Recent Knife Attack in Manchester

Another young life has been lost to knife violence in Manchester. A family is grieving. Friends are traumatised. A community is in shock.

This latest tragedy is not an isolated incident, it sits within a wider pattern that is becoming heartbreakingly familiar. For those of us who work with young people, this news hits hard. It brings with it a deep ache, a fury at the injustice, and a sense of helplessness that can linger long after headlines fade.

We hold in mind all those affected: the young person who died, their loved ones, and the witnesses and responders who are now carrying the weight of that day. We also think of the young people arrested, and the professionals now supporting them. No one emerges untouched.

This event reaffirms something many of us know in our bones: that children are growing up in a context of fear. For too many, the threat of violence isn’t abstract, whether real or imagined, it’s part of daily life. The dynamics of child criminal exploitation, amplified by social media and intensified by austerity, have created an environment in which young people are often navigating impossible choices in unsafe systems.

Those working closest to the ground, in schools, youth justice, housing and social care are doing so with dwindling resources and rising complexity. And behind every incident like this one are the untold stories of trauma, unmet need, and structural inequality that have gone unaddressed for far too long.

As creative arts therapists, we are often alongside young people and professionals long after a crisis has passed. We witness the aftershocks of deepened fear, numbness, mistrust, guilt, and silence. We know that these can’t always be processed through language alone. Our work often begins where words end, using image, story, movement, and metaphor to help young people make meaning, reclaim agency, and imagine something beyond survival.

The work is slow, relational, and often invisible. But it matters. It restores connection. It supports those who are holding others. And it offers moments of truth and healing in places where systems can feel dehumanising.

Right now, many people will be asking why this keeps happening. The answers are complex, but they are not unknowable. We must be brave enough to name the role of poverty, disenfranchisement, racial injustice, underfunded services, and the erosion of safe, consistent adult relationships in young people’s lives. We must keep challenging the instinct to respond with punishment, when what’s needed is understanding, safety, and care.

To all involved in supporting the family, young people and their communities in the aftermath of this tragedy: your work matters. We see the care you take every day. We’re committed to the long, steady work of helping communities heal, in all the ways we can.