Ford Supports New ‘It’s Okay To Talk’ Campaign In Europe

August 12, 2023 3:01 am

Ford UK It's Okay to Talk Mental Health Campaign

Ford has long been a proponent for mental health, most recently launching a suicide prevention campaign called “Make It Visible,” which utilized high-visibility safety vests for construction workers in the UK that are designed to grab people’s attention and help direct them towards help if they need it. The combination of the construction industry and a suicide prevention campaign is especially poignant given the fact that the Office for National Statistics estimates that two construction workers are lost to suicide every day. Now, those efforts continue, as Ford is now supporting the new “It’s Okay to Talk” campaign in Europe ahead of World Suicide Awareness Month, which takes place every September.

It’s Okay to Talk is the brainchild of the UK-based suicide prevention charity ANDYSMANCLUB, which was founded in memory of Andrew Roberts – a man who took his own life at the age of 23 in early 2016. It offers free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups for men over the age of 18, with those volunteer-led groups meeting at various locations around the country every Monday at 7pm.

Ford has a network of Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) employees who are specially trained to offer support to those that are struggling with mental health issues, and recently opened two dedicated well-being areas for employees at the Dagenham Engine plant in the UK, as well a Green Room at the company’s Dunton Campus. There, workers can meet with an MHFA in a calm, quiet space if needed.

“At our Dunton Campus we are lucky to have the space to talk, but sometimes guys just need to talk to other guys, which is why we are also lucky to have an Andy’s Man Club right on our doorstep, with the Basildon AMC Club, just round the corner in Laindon. At Ford we know talking is a strength and that’s why we strongly support the #ItsOkayToTalk campaign,” said Mark Wilson, who is Ford of Europe’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager, as well as a trained MHFA himself.

We’ll have more on Ford’s efforts to promote mental health awareness soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.