Construction industry professionals gathered at Frameless in London in November to raise awareness of the mental health crisis in construction and pledge their support for a new campaign launched by Causeway.
At the event, Causeway revealed the results of a unique industry survey of 1,439 construction site workers, which show that 56% are currently experiencing or have experienced mental health problems including anxiety and depression.
12% of respondents said they had experienced or were experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Among those present was Trevor Steven, a former England and Everton footballer. As the mental health ambassador at Causeway, Trevor has applied his own experiences with mental health in the male-dominated realm of football, to the construction sector. His efforts have played a pivotal role in paving the way for Causeway's new campaign.
“There is a huge appetite for listening to the issues and discussing mental health in this industry. Suicide rates are ridiculous, terrible in fact in this industry,” said Trevor.
“We need a collaborative approach to start saving lives and we need to get this message out to as many companies as possible up and down the country, as well as local and central Government. If we can save even one life, it will be worth it.”
Causeway launched a lobbying campaign, urging the inclusion of mental health provisions in Health & Safety and Social Value procurement conditions within construction contracts.
Meanwhile, business representatives demonstrated their commitment to creating a better workplace environment in the construction industry by signing a pledge on the day. This commitment extends to providing mental health support for the workforce.
Amongst the guests were representatives from both Labour and the Conservatives, as well as companies including Kier, Morgan Sindall, Balfour Beatty, Laing O'Rourke, Lendlease and Aggregate Industries. Charities including the Lighthouse Club and Everton in the Community were also in attendance.
Michael Salla, Deputy CEO, Everton in the Community said “Our work with Causeway has shown us that we need to see a lot more mental health provision built into everyday life in the construction industry.
“The survey results show a lot of men are crying out for help and we need to make it easier for people to access that support, as well as being more proactive in providing it to individuals.”
“I don’t want people to be alone anymore”
One of the attendees was Matt Hartill, a former scaffolder who currently serves as a mental health ambassador at Lyndon SGB.
During the event, a compelling new case study was introduced, featuring Matt sharing his personal challenges with mental health and suicidal thoughts while working on construction sites. He discussed the transformative journey he has undertaken towards a more positive state of well-being.
“I don’t want people to be alone anymore, to be in that darkness. I’ve been there and I understand that kind of pain where it hurts that much you can’t deal with it and I don’t want anyone to go through that. Let’s just talk. That’s why I’m so passionate and I am so proud to be working with Causeway on this.”
Speaking at the event, Causeway Technologies CEO, Phil Brown said
"This event vividly showcased a remarkable surge of energy and passion within the construction industry toward addressing this critical issue.
When Trevor and I started out on this journey, we believed that if we could save one life it would be worth it. But now we see there is a lot of power in the room, individuals with the capacity to enact substantial change and people who have been in the industry longer than we have at Causeway. Together, we are confident in our collective ability to positively impact numerous lives across the entire sector.”
Causeway’s campaign will now go on the road to lobby businesses and government representatives all over the country. The aim is to have over 200 people in industry sign our pledge, before returning to London next year to report on progress and take our message to parliament.
For more information and to sign the pledge, click here.
