23% more families received support from the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity last year than in 2021, the charity’s leaders have reported. 76% of requests for support came from tradespeople seeking help with emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support.
The statistics have been published as part of the charity’s Impact Report for 2022.
The charity delivered £3,322,739 of charitable services last year, the charity’s analysts have detailed. And, for every £1 of charitable spend, the charity’s representatives have reported creating a social value of £9.12.
The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity’s leaders invested 22% of grant expenditure in delivering 1,753 face-to-face and online counselling sessions. This service has meant that the construction industry’s workforce, and their families, has had fast access to a variety of counselling services to address issues such as bereavement, relationship breakdowns and anger management, according to the charity’s representatives.
Launched in February 2022, the charity’s ‘Make it Visible on Site’ initiative has allowed for 173 site visit and engagement with almost 9,000 site operatives.
“We know that there is still much work to be done,” said Bill Hill, the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity’s CEO, “but we don’t see the increase in calls for help as a negative. Quite the contrary.
“If people are reaching out for help, it means that they are hearing about us and not letting issues reach crisis point.
“Our Make It Visible On Site initiative has been one of our most successful campaigns to date, and has enabled us to reach out directly to our trades and site operatives.
“Our team can share their own lived experiences in an informal and approachable way. The fact that we have provided immediate safeguarding and lifesaving interventions to 25 people last year alone is testament to its success.”
Another new initiative introduced by the charity’s leaders in 2022 was the charity’s critical response service. This team aims to deliver essential support and early intervention during critical incidents. In 2022 the critical response team attended 28 sites and supported 1,218 people in coping with trauma.
The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity’s 24/7 construction industry helplines are available to call at 0345 605 1956 in the UK and 1800 939 122 for the Republic of Ireland (ROI). People can also reach out by texting HARDHAT to 85258 (UK) or 50808 (ROI). The website is lighthouseclub.org.
