Calls for mental health support from engineers up by more than 40% in the last 6 months
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:00 15 MARCH 2021
Engineering charity Foothold has reported a significant increase in engineers using mental health support services. The data, collected over the course of the past 12 months, includes engineers and their family members seeking help for anxiety, depression, and other mental health difficulties.
The number of people with mental health concerns helped by the charity has risen by 41% in the period July to December 2020, compared to the first half of the same year. The data reflects growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a public mental health crisis, leaving the gaps in service provision to be filled by the charity sector.
Michael, a 49-year-old engineer, was already struggling with his mental health. Then, the first lockdown made things worse.
“I couldn’t access the right type of support and I couldn’t function or cope with everyday tasks,” he explained. “As things spiralled, I moved in with my brother - he knew I needed to take the pressure off and focus on getting better. If that hadn’t happened, I’d have ended up being homeless.”
In response to the growing need for mental health support, the charity has today launched an online platform, giving users access to clinically approved resources and techniques to support their mental wellbeing.
Foothold’s Support Services and Development Manager, Denice Houslin, said:
“Since the start of the pandemic, calls for our support have tripled – this is a trend reflected by the rest of the sector. But addressing and improving mental wellbeing, in particular, is important because our state of mind impacts our ability to handle pressure in other areas of life. We’re proud to be able to support the engineering community this way.”
The platform features clinically verified e-learning sessions on topics such as anxiety, depression, work stress, substance abuse and others. It also offers support on pandemic-related challenges like redundancy and isolation. The project is being funded through a collaboration with Gattaca PLC, an engineering and technology recruitment specialist and outsourced solutions provider.
Gattaca’s Group Director, Matthew Wragg, commented: “It’s clear that the past year has been an extremely challenging time for so many people, financially, physically, socially and mentally, which is why it’s so important to ensure that those struggling have access to the appropriate help they need. At Gattaca, we’re on a mission to do what we can to make things better; we want to help as many companies, candidates, colleagues and communities as we can. Our collaboration with Foothold and subsequent fundraising challenge to pay for this online mental wellbeing hub is helping us do just that.”
The platform is free to use for all engineers, technologists and their families worldwide. Find out more at https://www.myfoothold.org/wellbeinghub/.
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