RANGERS and England football legend Trevor Steven is urging Scottish construction businesses to register their interest in a new mental health programme he is spearheading.
The former winger recently launched Mindflow – a charity dedicated to encouraging construction workers to talk about mental health through football.
The initiative has been endorsed by football legends including Ally McCoist, Gary Lineker, Robbie Fowler, Stuart Pearce, Peter Reid and Viv Anderson. Mindflow ambassadors currently include the likes of former Scotland striker Paul Dickov.
Speaking to Project Scotland, Trevor revealed that one local authority is already on board with his vision of seeing construction tenders include requirements for mental health provisions on site.
Trevor’s link with construction was born out of finding himself in a difficult situation. After retiring from football in 1997 he began doing punditry work in the Middle East but admits it didn’t fulfil him in the same way football did. “To be quite honest, I was drifting along to no man’s land in Dubai, and I didn’t really have a strong purpose,” he told Project Scotland. “Football delivers a purpose, but beyond football can be a void. As to how you go about to regain that purpose? I struggled with that for a long time.”
After meeting Paul Madeira, director at Causeway Technologies, at a kid’s football game, Trevor was brought onboard to the construction software company, which has worked with the likes of Kier, Balfour Beatty, and Dumfries & Galloway Council to make projects flow more efficiently.
The appointment came to the delight of founder Phil Brown, a lifelong Evertonian who had helped fund a film on the 1980s all-conquering Everton team Trevor starred in, with the tricky winger being his favourite player of that era – and the man he’d turn to, after hearing that two construction workers take their own life each working day in the UK.
“Phil was driving up the M40 listening to Mike Salla, of Everton in the Community, on Radio 5 talking about two construction workers taking their own lives each day – and he nearly drove off the road (in shock) at that point,” Trevor said.
Being aware of Trevor’s long-held interest in the mental strategies of elite sportspeople, Phil rang him and said, ‘we’ve got to do something’. “We decided that there was something we could do,” Trevor continued. “And if we could save one life, wouldn’t it all be worthwhile? So that got my purpose; it got me by the guts, and we said, ‘let’s see what we can do’.”
With the support of Causeway Technologies, Trevor began visiting construction sites across England and Wales – speaking to over 1,500 workers about what it’s like working in the industry, what issues they face, and football.
“Football sort of got their ears,” he added, before revealing that 67% of those he spoke to are fans of the sport. “Once you get their ears, they start to open up slightly and they’re curious first and foremost.”
Trevor’s research found that 56% of site workers are either currently experiencing or have experienced mental health problems. His visits to site would see him to speak to workers about his experience of being a footballer, which he compared to construction sites in the sense that it’s a largely-male dominated environment, often with ‘brutal banter’, and where teenagers are thrown in alongside men in their 30s.
“Davie Robertson (a former Rangers teammate) and I were actually talking about it the other night,” Trevor added. “We were both shy lads – we kind of kept ourselves to ourselves, but there were other personalities and characters around us – and funnily enough, Davie said to me ‘I had no idea you were a shy bloke like me’.
“What I did was create a mask that showed me in a light that I wanted to be seen in – but really, I was quite uncomfortable in dressing rooms because I didn’t follow racing, I didn’t follow the banter, and I wasn’t someone who told jokes. I didn’t really fit in.”
Mindflow’s ‘Talk Football Talk Mental Health’ programme will see other current and ex-footballers visit construction sites to deliver mental health awareness sessions, encourage conversation, and recruit volunteers to train as mental health first aiders – with hopes of eventually having a local hero as an ambassador in each UK community.
“Can you imagine the power of that?” Trevor continued. “Starting conversations through football and starting to get discussions about mental health and the ability to talk about your mental health – it becomes a core part of the industry.”
The charity will shortly release its 10 principles of good health, which have already been adopted by Halton Borough Council – meaning contractors won’t be considered for council contracts unless they deliver the resources called for on the charter.
Keen to see other local authorities follow suit, Trevor has hopes of creating a pyramid system which would see firms pay a membership fee relevant to their size, meaning the Tier 1 contractors could support the smaller firms in putting measures in place.
In the meantime, Mindflow will begin its initial work in the north of England, with plans to expand into Scotland over the next 12-18 months. Companies setting up bespoke mental health support for their teams has been covered in many Project Scotland interviews over the years. With that in mind, Trevor was asked how firms can get involved with Mindflow ahead of its launch in Scotland.
“Anybody is welcome,” he replied. “Register your interest in the Mindflow Charter and the Talk Football Talk Mental Health programme. We can then get an idea of what kind of flow of people are coming to us. With that feedback we’ll be looking to bring more ambassadors on.”
• For more information, visit Mindflow at www.mindflow.charity
