Two former comrades who met while serving in the Armed Forces 34 years ago have reunited in a new battle to improve the nation’s mental health.
Former RAF gunners Gary Peake and Philip Delbaugh met on a tour of Northern Ireland in 1985 where they became pals.
They kept in touch and three decades later are working together again after joining Stoke-on-Trent-based Acacia Training – to deliver Mental Health First Aid training across the 海角视频.
For 57-year-old Gary, it was his own personal experience which inspired him to become a first aider.
Gary was medically discharged from the Armed Forces in 2015 after a 31-year career as a military parachutist and team medic.
He developed PTSD and struggled to find employment – until he joined Acacia Training.
Now he is passionate about helping others to spot when someone could be struggling in the workplace.
Gary – who lives in Newcastle-under-Lyme and has trained more than 600 people – said: “Looking back, I’ve been in a lot of mental pain for most of my adult life. Part of my recovery has been finding a purpose to help others to overcome depression, anxiety and PTSD and it’s obviously something I feel very passionate about.
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“After I was discharged from the forces, I struggled to find a job and I found that volunteering with people like Scouting and The British Legion helped me to keep occupied and keep out of the pub and off Netflix.
“Working for a supportive employer like Acacia Training has also been a big change for me. There is a lot of demand for these courses I am delivering, with major companies like Vodafone and Dufry getting on board to realise the importance of mental health first aid to their employees’ wellbeing and, in turn, their performance.”
Gary added: “I want to help people stop suffering on their own, that’s basically what matters to me. Knowing that we’ve trained hundreds of people in workplaces throughout the 海角视频 feels like we’re really part of something important. I’ve had such positive feedback from people who have done the course and told me that they found it life-changing.”
Philip, who was a qualified weapons and first aid instructor in the military, worked as a close protection officer to celebrities and as a security consultant around the world before joining Acacia earlier this year.
He believes that mental health and emergency first aid is crucial in any workplace.
The 58-year-old, who lives in Milton Keynes, said: “We work with a wide range of organisations – from private sector to youth groups, charities, the armed forces, schools and colleges. Acacia has also signed the Armed Forces Covenant to show our support to those who have been in the military.
“Mental health and emergency first aid is crucial in any workplace but it’s also important in public facing environments like shops and train stations that people are trained to identify if someone in the general public is struggling with their mental health and needs support.”
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Bosses at Acacia Training are now urging employers to support the wellbeing of their workforce and customers by ensuring they have qualified mental health first aiders in the workplace.
The organisation offers a two-day Mental Health First Aid training course which aims to give participants a deeper understanding of the issues that affect people’s mental health.
It also teaches them how to spot symptoms, assess the risk of self-harm, confidentiality and the best way to offer support.
Victoria Sylvester, director at Acacia Training, said: “Gary and Phil are real assets to our team and have already helped hundreds of people to support their colleagues and customers.
“Employers are becoming increasingly aware that they need to take a less stigmatised view on mental health, and they can do this by making sure that they have trained mental health first aiders in the workplace.”