The Lighthouse construction industry charity launched its ‘Help Inside the Hard Hat’ campaign during Mental Health Awareness Week (from 10 to 16 May 2021). The campaign aims to raise awareness of mental wellbeing issues, and to highlight how the construction industry’s workforce can reach out for help.
Companies can get involved with the campaign by downloading free posters and displaying them online, on sites and in offices, as well as on site hoardings. The charity is urging participants to photograph the posters and post them on social media, to raise as much awareness as possible. Click here for more information, and to download free resources.
Using vibrant posters and quotes that aim to be thought-provoking, the ‘Help Inside the Hard Hat’ campaign addresses the perception that construction workers are often seen as being ‘hard’ on the outside. The charity’s research indicates that such workers are often more vulnerable and in need of support than many realise. The campaign’s resources are available to download free of charge from the charity’s website, here. A variety of poster sizes and colours are available. Companies can add their logo to show proud support of the campaign. The charity has pledged to provide artwork suitable for hoardings and site buildings free of charge, on request.
Darius Rodrigues, creative at And Rising, the London agency which designed the campaign’s artwork, said: “We were staggered by the statistic that every single working day, a construction worker takes their own life. This really pulled at the team’s heart strings. We wanted to do everything that we could, to not only help the Lighthouse Club raise awareness and address the enormity of the issue, but also to showcase all the fantastic work that is being done by the charity to support construction workers in crisis.” The campaign is being supported by the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), which is despatching free posters to all registered sites and including free posters with all of the charity’s ‘construction industry helpline’ packs.
Bill Hill, the Lighthouse’s chief executive, said: “We want to deliver a message of hope and to reassure our construction community that ‘we’ve got their back’ and that we are working tirelessly to ensure that no construction worker or their family is alone in a crisis. We really want the industry to get behind this campaign, so that our workforce knows about all of the resources we have available to help inside the hard hat.
“If construction workers don’t know we are here, then we can’t help them. This is all about removing the stigma of talking openly about emotional wellbeing and encouraging people to start a conversation by checking that their work mates are OK. This one simple action could make all the difference to someone and could even save a life.
“We also want to say a huge thank you to the fantastic team at And Rising who worked so hard to pull this campaign together for us. We would not have been able to achieve this without their help. A big thank you also goes out to the team at CCS who are helping us get this important message out to construction sites.”
Bill Hill added: “For the first time ever, we’re also encouraging the industry to share our messaging, not just within the boundaries of a site but on external hoardings too. Covid-19 has brought the mental health agenda to the fore, so the timing is right to share our important message with a wider audience and create a sense of community with the general public.”
The charity provides a 24/7 construction industry helpline, which provides free and confidential wellbeing support. The service is complemented by its free helpline app, which offers guidance on a variety of wellbeing issues. Construction-focussed training is also available from the charity, free of charge, ranging from hour-long interactive wellbeing sessions through to the mental health first aider course approved by Mental Health First Aid England.
