MENTAL HEALTH
Challenge So, what’s next? “I didn’t want to do the same things as last year. I also wanted it to be more of a shared experience. I approached Suicide or Survive and told them I wanted to find 20 people willing to take part in a 20-4-20 Challenge. The aim is for this group, drawn from all ages and fitness levels, to raise €20,000 for Suicide or Survive and facilitate further support, suicide prevention and mental health workshops in communities. Starting in February, the target has to be reached in time for World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, 2020. The
his family and friends, all of them asking why? Asking could I have done this, could I have done that?” Support John Blake is one of three Mental Health First Aiders within the Designer Group. “We are there to help identify issues. An employee can come to us as the first point of contact, and we can then try to steer that person to the relevant support. Gambling, drinking, drugs, you just never know how many lads or girls in canteens are struggling in silence with. Designer Group now has a Wellness Committee and an EAP programme. It’s definitely
something that has come on leaps and bounds. When the company saw what I was doing with the Ironman challenge, they brought me on board to team up with HR and have some input in the direction we needed to go.” It’s a strategy that has clearly struck a chord. “You asked me if I thought there were many blokes out there struggling? I know there is! Only this morning, I woke to a message from a friend of mine who I haven’t spoken to in years. She’d seen what I’d been doing on social media and it inspired her to come forward and say that her man is suicidal and needs help. At least I can put them in touch with people who can help.”
20 | IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE
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