THE Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has provided £1.13million in charitable services to support the physical and mental wellbeing of members of the construction industry and their families.
Offering financial and emotional support to the construction community, the organisation saw a 56 per cent increase in demand for its services in 2019, its latest report reveals.
That increase was recorded in the demand for their 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline, they confirm, adding: “2019 was a very exciting but challenging year for the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity.”
The number of construction families needing wellbeing and financial support from the organisation also rose to 2616 last year, with a total of £703,641 in donations being made to support them.
“Mental health continues to feature heavily and as a founder member of the industry’s ‘Building Mental Health’ programme, the charity has been at the forefront of driving momentum to ensure a better mental health culture within the industry,” a Lighthouse Charity spokesperson explained.
A further £411,962 was spent by the charity last year on an Education and Training programme they describe as “a project managed on behalf of the CITB” which saw 300 Mental Health First Aid Instructors trained up, who in turn trained over 3,000 Mental Health First Aiders to “provide boots on the ground support for our construction workforce”.
And just over £21,000 was invested in innovation, specifically on the Construction Industry Helpline App, which provides users information, advice and guidance on a variety of wellbeing issues.
Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, said: “We are working tirelessly to ensure that our construction workers and their families have access to the help they need.
“Our helpline cards have now been distributed to almost 600,000 of our workforce and our app has been downloaded over 20,000 times.”
He added: “We will continue to deliver pro-active interventions to ensure that situations do not reach a life critical stage and our mission is to ensure that no worker feels alone in a crisis.
“To support our helpline, we have recently introduced professional caseworkers who ensure that applicants receive all the possible support available to them, both from us and other organisations. This means that the charity is spending less per case whilst delivering a more holistic and higher quality service.”
For 2020 the charity has launched two new physical challenges – a 210-mile bike ride in Ireland, from Leitrim to Killarney, and an epic 48-hour Four Peaks Challenge which wil start in Scotland and end in Ireland.
For further information about the charity or the challenges visit www.lighthouse.org
To access the helpline’s team of experts, call the Construction Industry Helpline on 0345 605 1956 or visit www.constructionindustryhelpline.com
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