A Swindon man who saved a distressed teenager's life when he spotted her on a motorway bridge is now raising awareness of mental health.
Adam Jones noticed a 16-year-old girl who had left Great Western Hospital walking along the A419 towards Junction 15 of the M4 last July.
He joined Reece Stapleton and two other members of the public to help move her from the wrong side of the safety barrier and onto safe ground, then restrained the young girl until officers arrived at the scene and returned her to the hospital.
In January, Adam and Reece each received a Chief Constable’s Certificate of Recognition from Kier Pritchard for their compassionate and courageous conduct.
Now, Adam - who is head of customer care at Barratt David Wilson Homes South West - has completed mental health first aid training so that he can help more people who are struggling.
He said: “The terrifying events of last year have had a profound effect on me and I wanted to use the experience in a positive way.
"After my experience in helping the teenager last year, I recognised the importance of early intervention for mental health issues and I wanted to gain the skills that will help me help my construction colleagues.
"It’s well known that construction workers don’t feel comfortable discussing their health with others.
"This is why I was keen to go through training as it will enable me to have meaningful conversations and provide support to my colleagues who may have poor mental wellbeing.
"I plan to complete a refresher course in three years’ time and do additional training outside of work.”
His employer paid for the two-day course and, as part of its support for the charity Mates in Mind, is in the process of training line managers to deal with mental health issues within their teams and to enable conversations about mental wellbeing.
Managing director Ralph Hawkins added: "We’re aware the workplace has changed for many people over the last few years.
"The global pandemic has taken a toll on employees and we need mental health support in the workplace now more than ever.
"As a business, the wellbeing of our teams is a top priority so when we learned Adam wanted to go through mental health training, we were right behind him.
"We’re fully supportive of his aspirations to progress in this field for the benefit of his friends and colleagues.”
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