Award-winning charity CALM has teamed up with Berkeley and catering company Bon Appetit Group and KIND snacks to create a CALM zone at Southall Waterside - Berkeley's development in the London Borough of Ealing.
It is the first CALM zone on a UK construction site, providing a quiet break-out area to support employees' mental health at work, while building awareness of CALM and its support services.
On Wednesday 18 September 2019 staff from Southall Waterside, Bon Appetit Group and KIND came together with members of CALM, which aims to support mental health including the prevention of male suicide, to officially open the space. Berkeley and CALM signed a charter pledging to encourage colleagues to use the CALM zone as a place to have some downtime and escape everyday workplace stress and find out about the support services on offer. The charter will be displayed prominently in the new CALM zone.
On-site staff can use the space as a quiet place to relax with soft seating, refreshments and games. The initiative aims to raise awareness of mental health, helping to destigmatise what can be a very personal and sensitive subject, and a number of trained mental health first aiders based at Southall Waterside will also provide support.
Andrew Brown, Corporate Partnerships Director, from CALM, said: "In the UK there were over 6,500 suicides in 2018 and three-quarters of these were men. We offer support to those in need of a helping hand - both men and women.
"There's growing focus on mental health in the workplace and this CALM zone is our first on a UK construction site. We hope it paves the way for many more, helping other people in construction and site-based jobs."
Damian Leydon, Operations Director at Berkeley West Thames said: "We're encouraging our staff to take their mental health seriously - that's why we want to provide our employees with a space where they can have a bit of downtime. Everyone should be able to come to work and go home happy - and we are delighted to be working with CALM to ensure this."
About Southall Waterside
Southall Waterside is one of the capital's most ambitious regeneration projects.
The 3,750-home scheme will transform a redundant gasworks into a welcoming neighbourhood on the Grand Union Canal. It will include a buzzing commercial district, two new parks and landscaped green spaces, and open up access to the adjacent 90-acre Minet Country Park for all to enjoy.
The first 304 homes to be delivered at Southall Waterside are all affordable and are being offered to existing Ealing residents under either affordable rent or shared ownership.