In 2016, CPAS decided to partner with Pieta House and the Mind Our Workers campaign, to drive awareness of suicide and self-harm in the construction sector. 

In Ireland, the majority of people who die by suicide are men and an extremely high level of these are men with backgrounds in construction. With direct access to thousands of construction workers through pension membership, we were ideally positioned to extend the reach of Pieta House services.

Our first initiative early in the year was to circulate an information leaflet with our annual benefit statements, where the emphasis was on spotting the signs of suicide and saving a live - an initiative that reached 23,500 construction workers.

Within CPAS, our 45-strong workforce also got themselves behind the campaign. In April, we used our Workplace Well-being Day as an opportunity to do some fund-raising. The 7th May saw our walkers attend the Pieta Darkness into Light events across a number of locations and in September, our cyclists took to their saddles, to complete the Pieta 100 Cycle. We continued our direct fund-raising activities in November, with a One-hour Salary Deduction and wrapped up the year with a raffle for an extra days’ Annual Leave.

Our efforts have helped support Pieta House to the tune of almost €4,000, in direct and indirect financial support, a figure that will support 4 people through intensive, solution-focused counselling, free of charge.

If you have concerns about a family member, friend or colleague, please contact Pieta House confidentially, on (01) 601 0000 or visit www.pieta.ie.