At SL Controls, we take the issue of mental health in the workplace and wider society seriously, so we are pleased to lend our support to World Suicide Prevention Day 2022. The campaigning day takes place tomorrow, Saturday 10 September. It aims to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and focus attention on the message that suicide can be prevented.
Shauna Ryan is the Director of People and Culture at SL Controls. Several years ago, Shauna went through a mental health first aid training course. “What struck me from the course,” Shauna said, “is that you are not going to solve a person’s problem if they are in a state of crisis. The aim is to get them out of danger and to keep them safe until they can get the help they need.
“I learned a lot on the mental health first aid training course about suicide prevention and other mental health issues. In fact, many of the specific things I learned during the course have stuck with me since then. I think mental health first aid training is a valuable life skill, and it’s important to have knowledge and understanding in these areas.
“By being equipped with these skills, you will have them no matter what scenario you are in. This could be in work, which is something we are focused on here at SL Controls, but it also applies in our personal lives and when we are in our communities. As a society, the more of us who have these skills, the more equipped we will be to deal with these problems and prevent suicides.”
SL Controls has organised a mental health first aid training course that will take place next month.
Shauna said: “Offering the opportunity for our staff to become trained in mental health first aid is important for a number of reasons. It is aligned with one of our sustainable development goals – to promote good health and wellbeing. The training will also be a key part of our well-established Think Well at SL programme in 2022.
“The training is also important on so many other levels. For example, nobody really knows the long-term mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic experience. This is on top of the evolving issues that society is currently grappling with, such as the increasing cost of living or the war in Ukraine.
“So, we believe at SL Controls that it is important to continue highlighting mental health issues and doing what we can to promote good mental health, whether that is arranging mental health first aid training, running other initiatives as part of our Think Well at SL programme, or voicing our support for World Suicide Prevention Day 2022.”
Keith Moran, CEO of SL Controls, said: “We are all learning so much more about mental health, and we now know it is just as important, if not more important, than physical health. Anything that we can do as individuals, colleagues, employers, or as a society to promote good mental health and reduce the stigma around mental health issues will be beneficial.”
