Jonny Westbrooke, CEO of Furniture Makers' Company explains the charity's partnership with Shout ...
As the charity for the furniture and furnishing industry, we have been supporting the welfare of people working in our trade since 1903. We help furnishing industry people who are dealing with financial hardship by providing grants and useful advice. Over the past few months, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of applications for financial grants, as a consequence of the cost of living crisis and sadly we expect numbers to continue to rise.
Traditionally, we have focused solely on support in the form of financial grants, but in 2022 we announced a new partnership with the free, 24/7, confidential text service Shout, aimed at supporting anyone working in the UK furnishing industry who is struggling mentally.
Shout – which is powered by charity Mental Health Innovations – is a silent and anonymous text service that can help with issues such as anxiety, bullying, depression, loneliness/isolation, money worries, relationship problems, self-harm, stress and suicide.
The service is incredibly easy to use. All someone needs to do to start a conversation with a trained volunteer is simply text the word ‘COMFORT’ to 85258.
On doing so, the person will be connected to a volunteer who will listen and talk silently, via text message. Shout volunteers are available around the clock to listen and support anyone who is struggling to cope. It goes without saying that everything discussed is kept private.
We hope that this service will raise crucial awareness of mental health and provide support to those working in our trade who need someone to talk to. However, to get this message effectively communicated to all, we need to call upon you – the reader.
We have produced posters and other resources that you can hang in break rooms or noticeboards at your place of business. These are available to download from our website or you can contact us, and we will send you a COMFORT pack in the post. Together we may be able to bring some comfort to anyone going through a crisis.
www.furnituremakers.org.uk/crisis-text-service/
Text ‘COMFORT’ to 85258 for free, confidential support 24/7
