Ford has furthered its campaign in support of mental health with a new art project, in association with charity Time to Change.
The firm commissioned Norfolk artist Ruddy Muddy to create the piece painted on to a Transit van, which includes an elephant and messages such as “Don’t let mental health be the elephant in the room” and “if your mate’s acting differently – ACT!”
Research conducted by the manufacturer found men working in trade and construction are at the greatest risk of depression.
Jo Loughran, director of the charity Time to Change, said: “Asking twice – “Are you sure you’re ok?” – means people are much more likely to open up in conversation. We’re proud to be working alongside Ford on their dirty van art campaign.”
Muddy said: “When the mental health campaign was first mentioned I knew I wanted to be on board. If it can help just one person it is a very important muddy van…”
Since April, Ford has sent daily emails to its employees about mindfulness and mental health awareness. Furthermore, the company has trained 50 new mental health first aiders and provided training on mental health to 250 others, with a dedicated employee wellbeing portal being set up as well.
The ‘Dirty Van Art’ project has been done to in conjunction with this World Mental Health Day. Time for Change is encouraging everybody to ‘ask twice’ when it comes to mental health.