Relief fund appeal

Mates in Mind has called for donations to its Covid-19 Relief Fund, which will allow the charity to continue to respond with vital support programmes.

It is now expected that workplace mental health issues will be heavily impacted by the economic fallout of Covid-19. For the construction industry, this is particularly critical, the organisation said, as it already has a suicide rate among workers that is three times the national average.

Steve Hails, chair of the board of trustees of Mates in Mind, said: “We are now reaching out to supporters and across the industry to build up a reserve so we can do our part to mitigate the human cost of Covid-19 and its aftermath. My thanks to those that have already stepped forward to work with us.

“This will allow us to continue to support the wider industry – construction, tradespeople, project management, and others, across all sizes of businesses but particularly those that are smaller and self-employed – to get through this period and into the ‘new normal’ by enhancing our ability to continue to respond flexibly and creatively in the short-term to arising issues.

We are not setting any target – in the current climate we appreciate that every penny counts – and hope you will now join our efforts, to the best of your ability, to help move the UK construction industry workforce forward in good mental health.”

James Rudoni, managing director of Mates in Mind, said: “We can support the most vulnerable workers by addressing gaps in workplace mental health provision, including those who are self-employed or running small businesses – some of the those who are hit hardest by this unexpected crisis.”

www.matesinmind.org/covid19-relief-fund.html