Jackie De Burca talks to Bill Hill, chief executive of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity. The charity has been in existence since 1956 and has evolved immensely over the decades.

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity and its extensive network are doing phenomenal work through a variety of channels and initiatives. This episode investigates their work and how it has resulted in 125 active rescues to date. Active rescues refer to people who were considering suicide and through the charity’s support did not take that route, after all.

Bill speaks in depth about #MakeItVisible which is a support tool and portal created by the charity with their partners.

#MakeItVisible is a free workforce wellbeing and welfare portal for all in construction

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has partnered with CITB and Samaritans to create a wellbeing support tool as part of the industry-wide initiative called Make It Visible.

The Make It Visible campaign and portal aim to make welfare and wellbeing support visible on every construction site, helping to reduce the stigma around the subject and increase awareness of the support pathways available. Having secured over £400,000 in funding from CITB, the #MakeItVisible portal was created earlier this year to support the initiative.

The portal provides a wide range of resources, covering themes of emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing. It aims to help individuals recognise when they’re struggling and how to cope with the challenges they’re facing. For each area, there is an extensive list of organisations that can provide further in-depth advice and support.

Research shows that stress, depression, or anxiety account for 27% of all work-related illnesses in construction. Tragically, the charity also reveals that two construction workers in the UK take their own lives each day. The charity’s mission is to ensure that no construction worker or their family feels alone in a crisis and that they get the support they need before it’s too late.

The Make It Visible campaign also has a taskforce of people who are dedicated to visiting construction companies, builders’ merchants, hire centres, and sites across the UK and Ireland to get the conversation started and raise awareness of the free resources. The team has spoken to almost 30,000 people and visited almost 500 sites since the on site tours started in February last year.