Observing World Suicide Prevention Day with our Mental Health Professionals

This week presents an opportunity to take a step back and evaluate how it is that we think about our mental wellbeing, as we take a moment to pause for both World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 and R U OK Day on September 11.

Warning – the following article discusses suicide and self-harm. If you, or someone you know, is seeking help, please contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 or Incolink’s 24/7 counselling support line at 1300 000 129.

Incolink’s ‘Bluehats’ program is at the forefront of our industry’s battle to the ever-present danger of poor mental health within the construction sector. A recent report undertaken by independent news outlet The Conversation explored the factors at the root of Australian’s suicide epidemic within the sector, where nearly 200 Australian workers take their own life per year, more than twice the rate of other industries.

You can read their full exploration into the epidemic here.

The Bluehats program was created in 2018 as a means of helping start a conversation. We know that every worksite around Australia does not have a mental health professional working on it full-time, and for many within our community, the work site might be the only part of their day where they do not feel uniquely alone. As such, Bluehats helps workers identify the signs that one of their peers may be struggling, and gives them the tools to start a conversation.

These Bluehats do not have all the answers. Nor do they claim to.

But what they can do is start a conversation. And when someone is feeling alone, a conversation with a friend can make all the difference.

Helping bring the Bluehats program to life are Incolink’s trained Mental Health Educators – Kyp Kyprianou and Chris Forde.

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In the 2023-2024 reporting period, nearly 10,000 workers across Victoria were visited by Kyp and Chris as part of their Bluehats Toolboxes, delivered at over 100 work sites across the state. Developed as a ‘first step’ deliverable, these toolboxes lay the foundation for a greater conversation, which is unpacked in an optional hour-long general awareness session. 28 of these sessions were held, with over 1,200 workers attending.

The following step – a full day Bluehats training session, allows workers who have been engaged throughout the previous sessions to undertake a deeper dive into mental health education, leaving the day as an accredited Bluehat, ready to help their peers on site. There are nearly 600 accredited Bluehats, with more enrolled to participate in the next full-day session, held on 10^th September to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.

From the view of Chris, the Bluehats program has been at the forefront of a seismic shift in the way in which mental health has been addressed on work sites, and throughout the construction industry as a whole.

“What started as a bottom-up approach (with workers on site) is now migrating through all levels of organisations,” said Chris, who has worked within the Bluehats program for over four years. “Now, we have Bluehat representatives at almost every level within the industry.”

A career in therapy and mental health education was not the pathway that Chris expected for himself, growing up on a council estate in the United Kingdom.

Dropping out of school at 14, Chris’ experience in the construction industry started with a placement with a local builder – an environment which he felt stifled through a combination of empty promises, unfulfilling work and external substance abuse.

Fast forward seven years, and some important life changes, and Chris was working as a volunteer in a substance rehabilitation facility, finding the value and fulfillment in helping to support others own their own personal journey. In the following years he went on to complete a Masters Degree in Psychotherapy, which is an achievement he never thought was possible prior to seeking support.

Moving to Australia in 2014, Chris has held a leadership position at Beyond Blue before joining Incolink as a part of our Mental Health Education program, a program that he saw the value in almost immediately.

For Chris, the Bluehats program represents what he felt he needed when working on sites in what sometimes feels like a lifetime ago – a support network, a symbol of the people he knew he could go to and talk when things can start to get tough.

Moving forward, Chris has high hopes for the impact the Bluehats program can continue to have.

“In the years to come, I hope that mental health risk is treated in the same way as physical risk,” said Chris. “In general, I hope the program proves instrumental in tackling the stigma connected to open conversations regarding mental health, with improved help-seeking for all, regardless of gender, role and seniority.”

Chris and Kyp are visiting sites all around Victoria. Find out how you can bring them to your site, and the services provided on our website here, or call Incolink at 1800 337 789.