Movember – 10 years in...

…and the suicide scourge among Australia's tradies is only getting worse

This post is going to ask you to donate...if you get it, and you agree that more needs to be done, then feel free to save yourself the read and donate now -  

Donate here - https://au.movember.com/mospace/12787625

The money I raise this Movember will help fund groundbreaking research, innovative health projects, scientific breakthroughs for cancer treatments and life-changing mental health programs.

Looking at my Movember photos over the last 10 years it’s clear that I haven’t really improved in my ability to grow a strong MO, but year by year, as the hair on my head has got thinner, and unfortunately my belly bigger, my passion to bring attention to men’s health and particularly men's mental health and suicide prevention has remained.

Being vulnerable as a man and admitting you sometimes struggle and need support is something that doesn’t happen often enough as there is a fear of being judged as weak or soft. I hope that through initiatives such as Movember, men better understand that often the bravest thing that they can do is ask for help.

I hope that my involvement over this 10 years from both a fundraising and awareness perspective has aided in challenging the narrative of ‘suffering in silence’ or men feeling like they should just ‘suck it up’. I hope that I have helped shed a greater light on the insidious disease of depression and other mental health conditions and I will continue in these efforts for years to come.

My message for those reading this, in addition to DONATE NOW is that chances are a man close to you is struggling with his mental health right now. Reach out and check on your mates, whether it being in an office, out on a building site or in your social circles.

Can I count on your support?

Globally, the rate of suicide is alarmingly high, particularly in men. Too many men are ‘toughing it out’, keeping their feelings to themselves and struggling in silence. The Movember Foundation is aiming to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25% by 2030.

My team at Builders Academy Australia (BAA) is fantastic at supporting a number of initiatives and organizations that bring awareness and raise funds for related topics to that of Movember with these including: RUOK day, TradeMutt, 100 Words and Mates in Construction.

Each year Movember is important to our team knowing that the Movember Foundation is tackling some of the most significant health issues faced by men including suicide. Around the world, 510,000 men take their life every year. That's one every minute.

The scourge is greater still within the building and construction industry. Suicide among construction workers – who are almost exclusively men – aged 15 to 24 is more than twice as high as other young males, according to the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention. Every two days in Australia, a construction worker kills himself. They're six times more likely to die from suicide than through a workplace accident.

Pretty shocking, right? That’s why I’m doing Movember this year and have for the last 10: they’re hell-bent on changing the face of men’s health and so am I.

Can I count on your support?

Donate here - https://au.movember.com/mospace/12787625

Andrew Shea

CEO - Builders Academy Australia / CWBTS, part of Simonds Group Ltd

#MentalHealth #Movember #RUOK #SuicidePrevention #MovemberFoundation #BuildersAcademy #MentalHealthAwareness #CWBTS