Enhancing staff and volunteer mental health support – St John Ambulance
February 19 2024
St John Ambulance is a renowned organisation, offering workplace training, first aid supplies and event and ambulance services. The charity employs some 1,200 full-time staff in addition to its vast network of 30,000 volunteers, delivering services across England.
In 2022, nearly 240,000 people received workplace training by dedicated St John volunteers who also address NHS capacity shortfalls by offering first response, auxiliary ambulance services and vaccinations. St John is best known for its first aid role at some 11,000 events in the year.
Staff and volunteers at St John heroically offer their time and skills to keep others safe and prevent emergencies. Designing a system of support benefits to look after people at St John is therefore an important responsibility for National Wellbeing Lead, Helen Ablott.
“When you think about what our people do, giving up their spare time, it’s phenomenal. They stay committed right to the end of events and deal with challenging situations and people. It’s rewarding, and they get to attend amazing events but it’s also hard work they are doing.”
Addressing gaps in support
“We won’t pursue a certain support route if volunteers can’t access it, or where there are barriers to access, or if it doesn’t bridge a gap.” says Helen.
“Togetherall filled a gap because of the nature of it. You don’t just go and receive help, but you talk to other people, and you can work it out together. It provides the security of help being available if you need it.”
Togetherall serves as a dynamic online community that fosters anonymous peer support and engagement, allowing individuals to openly discuss their wellbeing challenges without fear of judgment. This aligns with the organisation’s commitment to creating a safe and inclusive space for its people.
Ecosystem
St John takes a proactive approach to support its people. With a dedicated role managing wellbeing, there is a clear focus on ensuring staff and volunteers are well looked after. “It says a lot about how we care for people,” says Helen “and I think in that respect, we’re ahead of the game.”
Togetherall sits alongside an Employee Assistance Programme at St John – selected for its unique ability to support people who face trauma in the workplace – and a host of internal benefits and support initiatives.
Their key consideration for Togetherall is not just in filling a gap but designing a system of complementary and accessible support.
“The key with all of our support resources, they all have to have that level of transferability to them. So, they’ll never be just accessible in one physical place, they’ll be set up in a way that everybody can access them, regardless of where they are.”
“If you want to do it really well, you can’t just have one thing, you’ve got to be able to provide a range of resources and support.”
“That’s what I like about Togetherall – it’s a very different kind of offering. It appeals to those people who don’t like face-to-face support, don’t like speaking out loud but still want a way to communicate how they’re feeling.”
St John’s staff and volunteers are made up of people of all ages, from across England with altruistic motivations often prompted by their own lived experience. St John’s people can face highly stressful situations when placed into emergency first response roles and need to be prepared and ready to take on such responsibilities. Additionally, St Johns diverse workforce experiences the full range of life challenges, which can take a toll on everything, from mental health to financial worries, to relationships and family life. “And the very nature of volunteering means that people who want to volunteer and give back have faced or are facing their own challenges. Volunteering can provide escapism for them,” says Helen.
Designing an ecosystem of ‘employee benefits’ to suit the needs of all these people therefore – both volunteer and employed – is no easy task. Yet offering an anonymous space for people to enter a supportive community at any time of day or night is something that people of all ages, in all locations and with vastly different experiences can benefit from:
“There are so many wellbeing and mental health apps and, a lot of them do very similar things. But Togetherall is quite a unique thing, it is something very, very different to other services that are out there.”
Meeting specific needs
St John recently signed the Armed Forces Covenant, with a commitment to make their internal processes and experience work better for serving or retired personnel who want to contribute to the work at St John. Part of their review – which includes reviewing and adjusting recruitment and training practices – covers wellbeing provision alignment to make the experience for military volunteers seamless.
“This is where it kind of all weaves in nicely together because we know that military people really like Togetherall because of the anonymity. There’s also that existing military community within Togetherall, which is quite appealing. And, if they are serving overseas, it’s a service they can still access at any time of day.”
Togetherall have been supporting the UK Armed Forces population and veterans for more than a decade, through its partnership with the Ministry of Defence. Read more about the partnership here.
Togetherall is also another channel where St John’s people to continue to ‘give back’ as they do through their St John duties. “By the very nature of the people in our organisation, they often want to help other people. Some people might not be ready to deliver Mental Health First Aid training, but still have the desire to share their experience and help other people. Togetherall is really great for that in a way that is safe for them.” For some people, Togetherall is not only available for their own mental wellbeing but helps them transition into and upskill in helper roles whether that’s as trainers or skilled front line service volunteers.
“Repetition, repetition, repetition”
St John promotes Togetherall a number of different ways, including via its staff intranet, on its dedicated wellbeing app which includes notifications, it is mentioned via proactive wellbeing articles shared to St John’s people and Togetherall is part of training received by wellbeing supporters – a group of advocates who work to promote St John’s wellbeing tools and advice among staff and volunteers.
“You have to just keep telling people,” says Helen. “It’s repetition, repetition, repetition.”
Helen says that messaging and storytelling are important, promoting positive wellbeing improvement behaviours rather than a negative story about poor mental health. People who can openly say they have used services like Togetherall – despite of its anonymous nature – helps to encourage others to try out the services available to them.
Find out more
Contact Togetherall today to learn more about how Togetherall can enhance your workplace mental health support services and promote a culture of wellbeing among your workforce.
