CHECKATRADE has confirmed a new partnership with the Lighthouse Charity, which supports the emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing of the construction community.
The charity offers a range of services, including a 24/7 helpline, text support, a self-support app, and access to local assistance through Lighthouse Beacons.
The organisation also runs a Wellbeing Academy that provides learning opportunities, including self-paced eLearning, Lighthouse Wellbeing Exclusives and Mental Health First Aider training. Through its #MakeItVisible initiative, the charity visits construction sites to engage with workers and provide wellbeing support.
Checkatrade’s donation of £10,000 will enable the Lighthouse Charity to provide more crucial services, including 160 additional counselling sessions, 140 emergency food shops and the potential to support in the event of critical incidents.
This contribution reflects Checkatrade’s commitment to helping look after the wellbeing of tradespeople and the broader construction community.
Sarah Bolton, CEO of Lighthouse Charity, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Checkatrade to ensure that the message of support reaches our tradespeople who may not know about the help available to them or how to access that support. Reaching out to those most at risk is key to our support strategy, so this collaboration with Checkatrade and having the opportunity to share our proactive and reactive support services with their network of over 50,000 tradespeople is perfect.
“As well as helping us to reach some of our most vulnerable workers, their fantastic donation will ensure that we can continue to provide life changing and lifesaving support to our construction community.”
Jambu Palaniappan, CEO at Checkatrade, added, “We’re extremely proud to support the critical work being done by the Lighthouse Charity. They’re an amazing organisation working tirelessly to help tradespeople, and we are committed to backing their mission to reduce the number of construction suicides, improve industry welfare and make wellbeing support more visible.”
Mike Humphreys, Checkatrade member and owner of Green Hawk Construction, commented, “As someone who has personally faced mental health challenges and is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, I am thrilled to see the impactful work that Lighthouse Charity is doing to support those in the construction industry — an area that is often overlooked. It helps to break the stigma, encouraging open and honest conversations about mental health and raising awareness of the resources that are out there to support our community in their times of need.”
You can watch Mike discuss his journey with mental health challenges with DIY SOS star Mark Millar as part of Checkatrade’s recent Give Us A Lift series.
If you or anyone you know is struggling, reach out for free and confidential support on 24/7 Construction Industry Helplines on 0345 605 1956. You can also access support through the live chat service at lighthouseclub.org or by texting HARDHAT to 85258.
For more information about Lighthouse Charity or to make a donation, please visit https://www.lighthouseCharity.org/.
