Mental Health Awareness Week

Over Mental Health Awareness Week we caught up with some of our mental health advocates across the business.

Nicola and Ram are two of our 72 Mental Health First Aiders who have undertaken a recognised qualification to support the mental wellbeing of our colleagues.

Nicola is committed to achieving better mental health outcomes for those at work by reducing the stigma around mental health and creating a trusting environment where people feel comfortable enough to share.

Ram’s personal experience has been his driving force to support others and says “After losing my mum five years ago, it would have been very difficult to get through the hardest time in my life without the help of my friends and colleagues. The patience, understanding and empathy of one of my colleagues not only helped me, but also made me realise how important it is to talk. I decided to take the opportunity to train as Mental Health First Aider, gaining an understanding of the different issues surrounding mental health. For me, the single most important thing is to talk.”

Anna and Jess, two of our 164 colleagues across the business who have put themselves forward as Mental Health Champions, to help us in our mission of making it common place for employees to speak up about how they are feeling. 

As a Mental Health Champion, Anna encourages people to open and speak about their struggles and is there to help those who require support. She believes everyone should have somebody to talk to and that we should all be working towards breaking the stigma around mental health.

For Jess, mental health is still a topic that isn’t widely talked about in her area of work within the farming community. She says, “whilst we are getting better at talking, there is still a long way to go. In becoming a Mental Health Champion, I have gained a better understanding and awareness around the mental health, something that will hopefully enable me to have a positive impact not only within Cranswick but also the wider farming community.”

We are encouraging employees across the business to start a conversation, check in with their colleagues and ask them how they are.

For more information on The Mental Health Foundation, visit: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/get-involved

Pictured Left-Right, Top-Bottom Nicola, Ram, Anna, Jess