Unsung hero brings suicide prevention to the workplace
Dave Armstrong, from leading food company Alliance Group received a LifeKeepers award for his contribution to suicide prevention at a ceremony today marking World Suicide Prevention Day.
David Surveyor, chief executive of Alliance Group said that Dave introduced the suicide prevention Mates at the Gate programme to the co-operative’s executive team.
“Dave brought the idea to Alliance and it made immediate sense and connected to our values. Mates at the Gate is testament to the dedication and passion of Dave and the team at Alliance would like to congratulate him on the award.”
The training introduces staff to the nature of mental health and provides practical advice about how they can assist and support their workmates. In addition, a number of volunteers from every site are trained as ‘connectors’, whose role is to link colleagues experiencing problems to the best source of help.
Karen Morris, Smithfield plant manager, said: “Most of our employees will have known someone who has experienced mental health issues. There is a lot of buy-in from them for Mates at the Gate and we are seeing a significant uplift in people seeking help.
“Dave Armstrong and Dr Annette Beautrais of the South Canterbury District Health Board, who has worked internationally on suicide prevention programmes, deserve a lot of credit for developing and delivering this excellent programme.”
David Surveyor said the co-operative was committed to looking after the safety and wellbeing of its people.
“Mental health is an issue that affects all New Zealanders and we wanted to do something meaningful to ensure our people had access to the right support if and when it was required.
“Mates at the Gate is about raising awareness and encouraging people to seek help early. We offer confidential professional help to support people who need it and fund that through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
“It’s also about mates helping mates and giving our people the tools to intervene early and link people to help.”
Life Keepers Awards Background
The LifeKeepers Awards are designed to recognise the often heroic but unacknowledged commitment of individuals and organisations who persevere with efforts and work which make a vital contribution to suicide prevention; these are ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things – creating communities of C.A.R.E to prevent suicide.
In light of COVID-19 and our commitment to keeping communities safe, we will not be hosting an in- person event or selecting an overall Supreme Winner BUT with the support of Suicide Prevention Coordinators across the country we have found this year’s LifeKeepers Awards recipients!
This year, the National LifeKeepers Awards for outstanding suicide prevention work in the community will be launching digitally on World Suicide Prevention Day – Thursday 10 September 2020.
Alliance – Mates at the Gates programme
Leading food company Alliance Group’s Mates at the Gates programme is an innovative mental health initiative designed to raise awareness about suicide in the workplace and make it easy for staff to seek help.
Launched in 2019, the programme encourages staff to ask for support at an early stage and also educates employees on the signs their colleagues might be depressed or distressed.
The training introduces staff to the nature of mental health and provides practical advice about how they can assist and support their workmates. In addition, a number of volunteers from every site are trained as ‘connectors’, whose role is to link colleagues experiencing problems to the best source of help.
Karen Morris, Smithfield plant manager, said: “Most of our employees will have known someone who has experienced mental health issues. There is a lot of buy-in from them for Mates at the Gate and we are seeing a significant uplift in people seeking help. Dave Armstrong and Professor Annette Beautrais of the University of Canterbury, who has worked internationally on suicide prevention
programmes, deserve a lot of credit for developing and delivering this excellent programme.”
David Surveyor, chief executive of Alliance Group, said the co-operative was committed to looking after the safety and wellbeing of its people.
“Mental health is an issue that affects all New Zealanders and we wanted to do something
meaningful to ensure our people had access to the right support if and when it was required.
“Mates at the Gate is about raising awareness and encouraging people to seek help early. We offer confidential professional help to support people who need it and fund that through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
“It’s also about mates helping mates and giving our people the tools to intervene early and link people to help.
“Mates at the Gate is testament to the dedication and passion of Dave Armstrong and the team at Alliance would like to congratulate him on the award. Dave brought the idea to Alliance and it made immediate sense and connected to our values.”