26/02/2026
**Building A Stronger, Healthier Construction Industry**
A couple of weeks ago had the honour of welcoming Lighthouse Charity's team to one of its larger and long term construction projects to talk about all things mental health.
Andy Bishop and Sam Warner from the team reached out to our frontline trades to raise awareness of the free, confidential support services available to construction workers and their families with an informal, engaging, and relatable talk.
Personal lived experiences were shared which at times were hard hitting but really drove the message that everyone has mental health no matter who you are! Judgement and stigma are still tangible fears, often with the thought that no-one can help, but the talk really empowered the statement that asking for help is a catalyst to a way forward no matter the circumstance or person.
After the talk a number of participants stayed and spoke direct to Andy and Sam and also to ALD’s Managing Director, Wayne Wheat, who had come to support the event. It was shared that the talk was not what they had expected and that they thought it was going to be a tick box exercise for the company with a boring presentation.
Comments of “Wow, that really hit home”, “I’ve taken a Lighthouse card and put in my wallet”, “I'm sharing the number with my brother tonight” summarised the collective buzz after the talk had finished.
Wayne commented “This was never going to be a tick box exercise. We have supported the Lighthouse for a number of years now and were really keen to provide something tangible direct to our workers out on site. Being able to arrange for the MiV team to come to site giving others the chance to listen to very relatable experiences was so powerful. I believe that there is an Archie in most blokes at some point in their lives and if we have helped one of those today then it was 100% worthwhile.”
We would like to thank Lighthouse Charity as well as Andy and Sam for all their efforts and also to our client, Willmott Dixon, who supported with our full site down tools approach in order for us to include as many as possible