Speedy partners to support mental health campaign

Photo: Speedy Hire

Speedy Hire has said that its partnership with the Lighthouse Construction Charity in the UK has supported 8,000 construction workers since it launched in December 2023.

As part of the #MakeItVisible on-site campaign, which raises awareness of the wellbeing and welfare support available to people in the construction industry, the company donated a new Speedy Hire campaign van to boost resources.

Over the past year, the Speedy Hire Campaign van has made 150 site visits across the UK and Ireland, enabling the Lighthouse Charity team to deliver an informative ‘Toolbox Talk’ and workers have the opportunity to engage with them on a one-to-one basis and ask any questions or talk about any issues they may need help with. To date, the #MakeItVisible on-site team has visited over 500 sites, reaching out to over 26,000 site workers.

According to Speedy, the campaign has prevented 84 workers who were expressing suicidal thoughts from carrying out any acts of harm.

As part of its decade-long partnership with the Lighthouse Charity, Speedy Hire has also facilitated the training of over 85 team members in different mental health workshops during 2023 and 2024, including Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs). MHFAs play a vital role in raising visibility within the team of the support available and reducing stigma on a peer level.

Aaron Powell, fleet & logistics director at Speedy Hire, said, “In an industry where construction workers are four times more likely to commit suicide than the national average, awareness and outreach campaigns play a critical role in helping those in need. I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved so far since joining the Lighthouse Charity’s #MakeItVisible campaign, helping to reach nearly 8,000 site workers in the past year.

“At Speedy Hire, we are committed to making mental health more than just a box-tick exercise, and we urge our industry peers to take pride in this initiative and work together to ensure that the help, resources and training our workforce needs are easily accessible to those in need.”

Sarah Bolton, CEO of the Lighthouse Charity, added, “Key to the process of addressing the barriers of starting a conversation and sharing concerns within the sector is through an informal and relaxed approach and letting people know that they are not alone in dealing with challenges.

“One of the ways that we achieve this is through our teams sharing their own lived experiences, making their conversations relevant and relatable and helping to reduce the stigma of reaching out for help.

“Our partnership with Speedy Hire is crucial in ensuring that we continue to reach some of our most vulnerable workers. In addition to this, we are also working together to ensure that their employees are accessing the necessary wellbeing training to build a positive, open culture that fosters life changing and lifesaving impacts.”