There were 20 members and guests present at the Zoom presentation. Bob Bradford advised those present that the Group had donated £10,000 to the Lighthouse Club due to problems they were having getting funding during the Pandemic and asked whether member companies would consider donating to the Charity. He then introduced Bill Hill the Chief Executive of the Lighthouse Club. The full presentation is on the SCSG website.
Bill advised that the Lighthouse Club was formed in 1956 as a charity fully dedicated to construction workers in the UK and Ireland. They help in situations where workers are killed, injured, suffer from ill-health or have mental health problems and are now providing food parcels to workers. The construction industry has the highest suicide rate for any industry with GCEO’s being particularly affected with 2 suicides every day in the UK and Ireland. To ensure that no construction worker is on their own the Lighthouse Club has a 24 hour helpline to cover emotional, physical and financial assistance. In the previous week they had provided 30 food parcels to workers. The helpline deals with 200 calls from families per month. The Lighthouse Club also has an app which has been downloaded 2000 times since its introduction.
The biggest challenge the Lighthouse Club is becoming better known especially with smaller companies.
Following are connections to useful resources provided by the Lighthouse Club
Building Mental Health and the 5 Step Road to Wellbeing:
The 5 step plan is here .. 5 Steps – Building Mental Health
The downloadable Toolbox talk is here .. Tool Box Talk – Building Mental Health
The first step is signing the charter and be part of a 600+ strong community driving for culture change within construction .. Sign our Charter – Building Mental Health
If you cannot easily organise the toolbox talk then this video covers the basics of how to help others in distress .. Ask Twice-Listen-Be Kind
The Group has recognised that many companies raise moneys for charities unrelated to the construction industry, why not consider donating to the Lighthouse Club.
The next meeting will be on the 22nd of April when Chris Steel (Noise and Vibration specialist) from the HSE will give a presentation via Teams on hearing protection.