Over 7,000 People To Benefit From Suicide Prevention Partnership.
Over 7,000 people will benefit from a programme designed to support workplace mental health, wellbeing & suicide prevention, established through a partnership between G.J. Gardner Homes and MATES in Construction.
G.J. Gardner Homes is New Zealand’s largest home builder, completing around 1,500 homes every year, and employing over 7,000 workers either directly or as subcontractors and trades.
The MATES in Construction programme is conducted onsite and is about encouraging construction workers and staff to look after each other, seek, offer, and accept help when it is needed.
As a business and organisation, we care about our people, that they are safe in their work environment, that they return to family and loved ones at the end of each working day and that they are in a stable state to return to work the following day.
Some people find it difficult to have a
conversation or share what is troubling them which is why
this new partnership with MATES in Construction is so
important.
It means that all of our offices and build sites will have the necessary support and on the job training available to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace,” says Ellie Porteous of G.J. Gardner Homes.
Last year 654 people died because of
suicide, with our Maori and Pasifika population
overrepresented in the numbers, a demographic heavily
represented across the construction
industry.
MATES in Construction CEO Victoria
McArthur says expanding the programme to GJ’s will see
more support for workers who are at high
risk.
"Small construction business owners and their workers are particularly susceptible to the factors that contribute to the over-representation of construction workers in New Zealand’s suicide toll, particularly lack of understanding of the issue of suicide and associated stigma, employment/financial insecurity and workplaces that are not supportive of help-seeking. Working with GJ’s, we will be able to reach into these communities through their sub-contractors and suppliers to create a more supportive construction community.
“Construction
workers have the highest suicide rate of any industry – we
are losing roughly one person a week on average. Part of
this is that the people in our industry tend to be men for
whom talking about this stuff might not come
naturally.
"MATES in Construction is about putting onsite programmes in place, led by people who have worked in the industry and who come from the tools. It’s about building capacity through a supportive culture where we look after our mates, we keep an eye on each other and where people know they can speak up if they need extra help.”
The MATES programme focuses on opening
communication channels, changing on-site culture and
improving knowledge of what can be done to prevent
suicide.
It starts with a one-hour General
Awareness induction for all workers on a site, providing the
skills to help workers start discussions with someone who
may be struggling on-site or even in their
community.
Volunteers can also be trained as Connectors (trained to help keep someone in crisis safe, while at the same time connecting them to professional help), with some also receiving ASIST advanced intervention training.