The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project partner to broaden mental health services

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 18 August, 2021

The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project have joined forces to extend their mental health services, with the Drinks Trust making their helpline available to users of The Burnt Chef Project and vice versa.

The Drinks Trust, the drinks industry charity, extended its confidential helpline last year to a 24/7 support line, with counsellors and clinically trained psychotherapists offering in-the-moment support to help callers cope with personal or work-related problems.

Meanwhile, The Burnt Chef Project, a registered non-profit which challenges mental health stigma within the hospitality industry, launched their text support service in February 2021. Through this partnership, the charities aim to reach and provide support to even more colleagues facing mental health difficulties by adding their services to the other's rosters.

“We are extremely pleased to have partnered with The Burnt Chef Project and to extend our helpline services to their stakeholders,” said Nicola Burston, operations manager at The Drinks Trust.

“Through this association, we aim to extend the message of our services to even more people who are suffering from any form of mental health difficulty and don’t know where to turn to. The Drinks Trust, as The Burnt Chef Project, is fully committed in removing the stigma surrounding mental health, so please, if you are not feeling okay get in contact with our helpline. You are really not alone in this.”

According to a survey launched by The Burnt Chef Project, 40% of respondents have struggled with their mental health over the past 12 months, with around one in six reporting it has been ‘not good’. General managers appear to have been impacted the most, with 42% reporting a decline in the overall level of mental wellbeing since reopening.

On the flip side, 60% of individuals report feeling ‘okay’ or ‘better’ about working in the industry, showing that a large proportion of the workforce is keen to remain. Over 30% of those not currently working within hospitality are looking to return within the next 12 months.

Kris Hall, founder of The Burnt Chef Project said: “We are thrilled to be able to extend our existing text support service which aims to provide immediate relief to those who need it. Through our partnership with The Drinks Trust, we can now do even more to support the hospitality community through its toughest period to-date. By providing complimentary access to The Drinks Trust to the growing Burnt Chef community we are now able to provide mid-term assistance around a wealth of concerns as well as immediate help when it’s needed.”

The Drinks Trust’s confidential helpline is free and available to all 24/7. Call on 0800 9154610, email helpline@drinkstrust.org.uk or send “Hi” on Whatsapp to 00 353 87 369 0010.

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