As a company signed

up to the Mental Health Charter, WL is committed to raising the awareness and

discussion around mental health. As a result, the company recently trained

several of its staff to become Mental Health First Aiders, ensuring all of its

employees have access to the necessary support should they require it.

Last week, the MHFA

(Mental Health First Aid) visited WL’s Wimbledon premises to conduct two days

of training, allowing the ten attendees to become Mental Health First Aiders.

The role of a Mental Health First Aider allows people to recognise the crucial

warning signs of mental ill health and give them the confidence to guide

someone to appropriate support. One of the participants included WL’s Head of

Moving Light Matt Farquhar, who comments: “Since becoming a Manager, I’ve

learnt an awful lot about how mental health affects people’s personal, working

and social lives. Unfortunately, mental health still has a certain stigma

associated with it and I wanted to help break this down at the workplace”.

Also taking the

training was WL’s Recruitment Co-ordinator Shannon Hurley. She states: “Having

lost a friend due to their own struggles with mental health, I am always

looking for ways in which I can raise awareness and offer help to those who

need it. I volunteer for the charity Shout as a Crisis Line Volunteer and so

when I found out that WL was training more Mental Health First Aiders, I wanted

to get involved. WL is the first company I’ve worked for that has been a strong

advocate for mental health awareness and it’s something I want to embrace as an

employee”.

As part of the training, WL staff worked closely with the MHFA over a two-day period in which they were taught an array of techniques to help recognise the signs of someone who may be suffering with mental health and how to respond to this by providing a safe space for recovery. They were also taught the Mental Health First Aid action plan ALGEE: Approach and assess, Listen and communicate, Give support, Encourage help and Encourage others.

Shannon explains:

“What was great about the training was how it practically showed us how to

approach and deal with certain situations. A big part of removing the stigma

around mental health is opening the conversation and showing people that it’s

nothing to be ashamed of”.

Matt and Shannon

were trained alongside eight others who work all across the company to ensure

the resources stretch as widely as possible. Matt comments: “Using everything

I’ve learned, I now feel I have both the confidence and tools to assist anyone

who may be suffering from poor mental health – something that’s a valuable

asset to the organisation”.

Chris Nicholls

concludes: “Health, Safety and Welfare has always been a huge priority at WL –

and that’s not just the physical side. Thankfully, as a society, we’re finally

recognising the benefits of looking after our own mental health as well as that

of our family, friends and colleagues. As a company, we are delighted that over

5% of our staff are now trained Mental Health First Aiders and we will continue

offering our team as many resources and support options as possible”.

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