Careers
Mental Health First Responder
Lindsay, a facilities coordinator, shares how her personal trauma helped her become a mental health advocate for others.
October 10, 2022 3 Minute Read
I love the fact that within my role at CBRE, I can help people take positive steps with their mental health. Having the freedom to support our colleagues and clients in a mental health capacity, we’ve seen increased productivity, accidents reduced, and people wanting to come to work more.
Lindsay says her biggest motivation is to help people. As a facilities coordinator, she helps with a little bit of everything from safety and wellbeing to ensuring the engineers have personal protective equipment. She volunteers as a Queen Scout and helps produce a parade each year at Windsor Castle. Within her role at CBRE, she helps colleagues and clients take positive steps with their mental health as a Mental Health First Aider.
Supporting good mental health isn’t just a passion for Lindsay, it’s personal. Prior to joining CBRE, Lindsay was involved in a motor vehicle accident which left her with post-traumatic stress and severe anxiety. She was fearful that she might lose her job as a result. “I don’t want anyone to feel like I felt,” says Lindsay. “When I joined CBRE, I was given the opportunity to openly share my experience and inspire others to ask for help.”
Lindsay says serving as a Mental Health First Aider enables her to help people with the challenges they may be facing, and it’s not just work challenges. “I’ve had people discuss personal issues, grief, loss, depression, eating disorders, and cases where someone just feels a little bit down.” In 2021, Lindsay’s team was invited to support Mental Health Day festivities at an Arianna Grande concert. This experience sparked a fire within her team to enhance their offerings through the production of regular mental health newsletters, online meetings and notes posted throughout the facility with the team’s contact information. “Some people have come forward with serious struggles and they need to hear those magic words, ‘I’m here for you’.”
Lindsay says having the freedom to support her colleagues in a mental health capacity has resulted in increased productivity, reduced accidents and people wanting to come to work more. “These mental health services are extended to our clients and supply partners too. It’s one team, one dream and we want to ensure that nobody struggles alone.”
To learn more about how we’re realizing a sustainable future, download our Corporate Responsibility Report here.
Supporting good mental health isn’t just a passion for Lindsay, it’s personal. Prior to joining CBRE, Lindsay was involved in a motor vehicle accident which left her with post-traumatic stress and severe anxiety. She was fearful that she might lose her job as a result. “I don’t want anyone to feel like I felt,” says Lindsay. “When I joined CBRE, I was given the opportunity to openly share my experience and inspire others to ask for help.”
Lindsay says serving as a Mental Health First Aider enables her to help people with the challenges they may be facing, and it’s not just work challenges. “I’ve had people discuss personal issues, grief, loss, depression, eating disorders, and cases where someone just feels a little bit down.” In 2021, Lindsay’s team was invited to support Mental Health Day festivities at an Arianna Grande concert. This experience sparked a fire within her team to enhance their offerings through the production of regular mental health newsletters, online meetings and notes posted throughout the facility with the team’s contact information. “Some people have come forward with serious struggles and they need to hear those magic words, ‘I’m here for you’.”
Lindsay says having the freedom to support her colleagues in a mental health capacity has resulted in increased productivity, reduced accidents and people wanting to come to work more. “These mental health services are extended to our clients and supply partners too. It’s one team, one dream and we want to ensure that nobody struggles alone.”
To learn more about how we’re realizing a sustainable future, download our Corporate Responsibility Report here.
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