Recognising the increasing importance of mental health in the workplace and in honour of World Mental Health Day on 10th October, Harron Homes, which has its Yorkshire office in Morley, Leeds, has invested in mental health support across the business.

The housebuilder has donated £250 to Lighthouse, the construction industry charity, as a thank you for its invaluable mental health resources. 

As well as utilising external resources, Harron has invested internally too. Three members of staff, Rebecca Blake (Marketing Coordinator), Debbie Peers (PA to Group Managing Director), and Debbie Goodison (HR Manager), recently completed the course provided by a Nuco Training instructor to receive a certificate and the resources to assist their colleagues. More colleagues are already enrolled to start the course and plans are being made for a site manager training programme to ensure support for staff across all areas of the business.

Other colleagues led by Health, Safety & Environment Manager Lee Howard, have come together to form the Mental Health Champions team. Established to raise awareness of mental health across the business and implement mental health strategies, the team will meet regularly to discuss the best way of supporting their colleagues.

Debbie Peers said “I have found the training really helpful, it’s made me a much better listener and I feel confident in directing people to organisations which will be able to help with their specific needs.  I would definitely recommend the training and am glad more colleagues are taking the opportunity.”

Lee Howard said “At Harron we’ve been talking more and more about the importance of mental health over the last few years, but Covid really pushed it to the forefront of business operation adjusting to working from home during the pandemic. The construction industry as whole struggles with tackling mental health, but here we’re confident our Mental Health Champions will open the conversation and reduce the stigma that remains so we can best protect the wellbeing of everyone at Harron.”