An England football legend, backed by local sports stars, is spearheading a new charity encouraging construction workers to talk about mental health.

Former England and Everton hero Trevor Steven’s Mindflow initiative has been endorsed by football legends Gary Lineker, Robbie Fowler, Stuart Pearce, Ally McCoist, Peter Reid and Viv Anderson.

It was launched at the National Football Museum in Manchester on 20 March and attended by Mindflow Ambassadors: Manchester City’s David White, Paul Dickov and Paul Lake, Tottenham Hotspur’s Paul Stewart, and Sheffield United’s Curtis Woodhouse.

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 from each session to train as mental health first aiders.

The Ambassadors have all publicly shared their challenges around mental health and have firsthand experience to support the construction industry.

Research conducted on-site by Trevor Steven, supported by construction software company Causeway Technologies, found that 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 that many workers in the industry (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 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 will 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 the Charter will mean contractors have to meet set standards to secure the 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.”

Visit Mindflow to find out more.

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