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Queensland Minister for Industrial Relations Grace Grace welcomed the appointment on the 21 July 2017, saying that Mates are making a real difference in reducing the incidents of suicide in the construction industry.
“We are so proud to be associated with Mates and now to have Darius on board as an ambassador, it’s just the icing on the cake,” Grace said.
“Darius has been keen to work in the mental health space so the association with Mates is a great fit. Construction workers make up a big part of the rugby league community and having someone like Darius willing and ready to help is so important.”
According to Grace, young tradies have a suicide rate two to three times higher than the general community and the average age of suicide amongst construction workers, particularly in Queensland was 36 years.
“This government is committed to suicide prevention and to doing all it can to reduce the suicide rate in the construction industry and anything Darius can do to assist with this is welcome,” Grace said.
Mates in Construction Acting chief executive officer John Brady said that every second day a construction worker took their own life.
“These instances are mostly preventable. Life is hard and often unfair and that is normal. We can all sometimes get overwhelmed by life, whether we are a high profile footy star like Darius Boyd or an ordinary construction worker,” Boyd said.
“If our mates can learn to pick up the signs of another mate doing it tough and have the courage to ask us if we are struggling, this can be critical to saving someone’s life.”
Mates in Construction information – 07 3833 1140
Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636