WEST Belfast mental health charity West Wellbeing have teamed up with local builder Toland House Properties — currently building new homes for Radius in Mount Eagles (And na nIolar) — to provide care and support in the workplace.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, workers in construction in the UK, are now nearly four times more likely to die by suicide than in any other sector. In 2021, 507 construction workers took their own lives.
Gerard Mallon from West Wellbeing said his group was delighted to partner with Toland.
"We are happy to be providing a pathway to support for the workforce," he said. "Through our training team, we will also be delivering a series of tool-box talks on site which will enable the contractors to provide an initial response to those with mental health issues.
"These bite-size workshops will give them an understanding of how to approach, communicate and listen to someone in distress, and signpost effectively to our care”.
Toland House Properties founding director Jim Ferguson sr. praised West Wellbeing for their work in the community.
"It will give us peace of mind, should any of our workforce be affected by poor mental health, to know that we can call upon the team and have access to support services," he said.
