A leading Welsh property and construction firm has raised over £2,000 to help combat male suicide, the leading cause of death for men aged 20 to 49 across the UK, following the loss of a respected and popular co-worker.
Jehu Group hosted a fundraising band night at popular Cardiff venue Tramshed in aid of suicide prevention charity CALM, which provides help to men who are down or in crisis, as well as support to those bereaved by suicide.
The family firm has chosen to support the charity as its ‘Charity of the Year’ after one of its employees sadly took their own life last year aged just 40.
The group is now calling on members of the public to continue to show their support and help make a difference to the lives of thousands of men and their families across the country by donating to the cause.
Almost 200 people attended the charity band night, which welcomed live music and entertainment from local bands Special Brew, American Mustard and State of Mind, to raise £2,122 in honour of Jehu’s former employee, who took his own life last July after suffering a suspected nervous breakdown.
The popular member of the team had been working with Jehu as a labourer for two years and the group is now hoping to not only raise awareness of the mental health issues surrounding male suicide, but to make more people aware of the helpline offered by CALM.
Simon Jehu, Managing Director of Development said: “The rate of suicides among men in Wales has soared to its highest ever level, well above the UK average. This is something we are passionate about changing, particularly given the loss of one of our colleagues, which makes the issue even closer to our hearts.
“For us, there was no question in supporting CALM as our charity of the year. Our aim is to help raise more awareness about the fantastic work that CALM does to help men across the UK and we urge everyone to donate and support the charity’s very important cause.”
Jehu’s support of CALM follows the latest suicide registration report from the Office of National statistics which revealed that of the total number of suicides registered in the UK in 2015, three-quarters (75%) were males – equating to more than 4,600 deaths.
As its charity of the year, Jehu will run a number of fundraising activities throughout the year to raise money for CALM including The Wales Property Triathlon in September.
Placing its team at the forefront of its support initiatives, the decision to support CALM comes after Jehu previously chose brain tumour charity Brain Tumour Research as its charity of the year following the death of one its foremen, Hugh Walker, to a brain tumour in September 2013.
To donate to CALM, please visit Jehu’s fundraising page here
Any men across the UK looking for accredited confidential, anonymous and free support and information can contact CALM on their helpline on 0800 58 58 58.