Article 25 May 2023 United Together…an event with heart On Monday 22 May we hosted our United Together event in partnership with The Security Institute. The event was a huge success, and we’d like to thank everyone who took time out to join us. For anyone who couldn’t make the event we wanted to share the key take aways with you. Let’s talk about mental health It’s not always easy to talk about mental health particularly emotive subjects like suicide prevention and PTSD, but that’s exactly what we did at the United Together event on Monday. We were joined by Vicky Vidler from the Consortium for the Prevention of Suicide (CPS). Vicky founded the Consortium in 2021 and works with corporate organisations to raise awareness and help prevent suicide. 115 people in the UK alone die every week from suicide and Vicky and her team believe the more open conversations we can have with each other about this, the better chance we have at reaching vulnerable people before they make the irreversible decision to end their life. You can find out more about the Consortium and their work here If you, or anyone you know is impacted by suicidal thoughts, please know you are not alone, and help is out there. At Mitie all our colleagues have access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which offers round the clock counselling on a range of issues. The service is completely free and confidential and you can find out more here In an emergency please call the Samaritans Helpline Number on 116-123. PTSD Support We were also joined by Stuart Bratt, CEO and Founder of Tough Enough to Care, a former veteran who has completed tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. Stuart gave an inspiring talk about PTSD. Approx. 15% of veterans suffer with PTSD in the UK alone according to a 2023 report by the Centre for the Advancement of Health (CFAH). At Mitie, we employee a large number of ex service men and women, so this is an issue particularly close to our hearts. You can find out more about Stuart and the work he does with Tough Enough to Care here If you’re a former service man or woman struggling with PTSD, or you know someone who is, you can find further support and information at PTSD Resolution Thanks to… Thanks also to Michelle Russell, CEO, Security Industry Authority (SIA) and our very own Sarah Smith, QHSE Director for their interesting and engaging talks. Tell in the comments if you’d like to see more of these types of events at Mitie.
