AN England and Rangers football legend has launched a new charity aimed at encouraging construction workers to talk about mental health.
Trevor Steven, who had two stints at Ibrox and won 36 England caps, is behind Mindflow. The charity has already been endorsed by other football greats including Ally McCoist, Gary Lineker, Robbie Fowler, Stuart Pearce, Peter Reid, and Viv Anderson.
Ambassadors of the initiative include former footballers David White, Paul Dickov, Paul Lake, Paul Stewart, and Curtis Woodhouse, who were all in attendance for Mindflow’s launch at the National Football Museum in Manchester. The ambassadors have publicly shared their challenges around mental health and have firsthand experience to support the construction industry.
Through Mindflow’s ‘talk football talk mental health’ programme, current and ex-football players will visit construction sites to deliver mental health awareness sessions, encourage conversation, and recruit volunteers to train as mental health first aiders.
Research conducted on-site by Trevor Steven, supported by construction software company Causeway Technologies, found more than half (56%) of site workers are either currently experiencing or have experienced mental health problems. The industry is especially vulnerable due to factors like long irregular hours, many workers being self-employed, and high-pressure working environments.
The survey found many workers in the construction sector (67%) are football fans, and the charity aims to create a culture of proactive support and early intervention by joining the dots between construction, mental health, and football.
Trevor Steven said, “Football, and sport in general, has made great strides in destigmatising issues around mental health. Whereas in construction, the statistics around suicide rates tell an opposing story. Getting people talking is widely cited as being key to tackling poor mental health. Football offers a potential route in; it is a sport that brings people together and starts conversations. We hope that through football, Mindflow can help site workers to speak more freely about their mental health.”
Through its charter, Mindflow aims to introduce a consistent and measurable standard for mental health provisions onsite, set out by the local authority on publicly funded projects. As it stands, the level of mental health support for workers is left up to the contractor, whereas Mindflow said the charter will mean contractors have to meet set standards to secure work.
Phil Brown, executive chairman at Causeway Technologies and chair of trustees at Mindflow, added, “We’ve worked closely with Trevor for years on research into the mental health crisis in construction. The findings are clear – construction is an industry where mental health struggles are common yet go unspoken. That’s why it’s so important that Trevor is launching Mindflow and combining football and construction to initiate meaningful conversations and provide real, practical support. Causeway is proud to be backing Mindflow and looks forward to seeing how the power of football can create meaningful change in the industry.”
