easy to sign up on the website and order
character posters, infographic posters,
toolkits, stickers and air fresheners.
There is no cost for these materials
and becoming a Buddy Up champion
doesn’t mean spending any money. We
just want to get the word out.
“It’s important to understand that
women also have a role in this campaign
when it comes to helping out their coworkers
and friends, male or female.
Oftentimes, guys are oblivious to how
their friends are doing. Maybe women
can encourage the men in their lives and
bring this to their attention. We’re looking
for all champions, Canada-wide.”
Being a Buddy Up champion
Volker Stevin Contracting Ltd. is one
of the premier civil contractors in the
Calgary region, and safety manager
Mike Principalli got his company
involved in the Buddy Up campaign
near its inception.
“I watched a webinar about the program
and was drawn to the topic,” said
Principalli. “Akash spoke about suicide
prevention, the statistics and how the
demographic with the highest rate of
suicide in men makes up a large part of
our workforce.”
Safety is typically considered in
terms of physical health and safely
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operating heavy equipment and tools,
not on health between the ears.
“But ours can be a stressful industry,”
said Principalli. “People are often
working to tight deadlines, long hours
and aren’t necessarily equipped to deal
with the stresses and take care of their
mental health. Construction is maledominant,
and typically it’s ‘shut up
and get to work, don’t talk about feelings.’
But everyone has bad days.”
Through the Buddy Up campaign,
Principalli realized you don’t have to
be mentally ill to die by suicide. It
could be a batch of really poor circumstances
and feeling trapped that can
lead to suicide.
“A lot of our guys have been with
the company for 10 to 20 years,” said
Principalli. “They’ve created relationships;
they care about each other and
everyone involved in our company.
With that approach, we want our people
to be able to reach out, and for us
to be able to provide the help if they
need it.”
Principalli started with the Buddy
Up initiative by giving out hardhat
stickers and putting air fresheners in
over 100 trucks in the company’s fleet
to bring awareness of the program to
every worker.
“Next, we’re looking at figuring
out what training will be available
to our workforce – maybe online
and interactive with actors portraying
scenarios within specific questions
that the participants pose. We’re
looking at inviting speakers for our
webinar series. Suicide prevention
awareness should be another life
skill, learning how to recognize and
help with possible suicide situations.
It would become much like first aid,
where you don’t forget your training
when you need it.”
Buddy Up month
The second annual Buddy Up campaign
takes place in June 2021. Throughout
the month, all companies – no matter
the size – are encouraged to become
champions and participate in challenges
and activities promoting mental
wellbeing and have the chance to win
some great prizes. n
Go to www.buddyup.ca – sign up and
start making a difference.
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