After a challenging trading period through December and Christmas for the licensed drinks sector the Licensed Trade Charity has announced it has helped over 120k people and given over £3.3m in grants and services since the start of Covid-19.
The Licensed Trade Charity, who are dedicated to supporting workers in the licensed drinks trade, release figures today (24th January 2022) for the year of 2021, showing they helped over 46k people with over £1.7m in grants and services during the year.
The Charity, which was established in 1793, supports people from the licensed drinks trade and has seen a growth in awareness and demand for the free support it offers to the licensed trade.
The Charity launched an app for free download in November 2021 with over 510 downloads in December alone. The app gives users direct access to that free support with just a swipe and touch.
Mental health remains a challenging issue for the industry, with the charity’s free helpline reporting a massive 40% increase on the previous year in calls for emotional support and counselling.
Paula Smith, head of marketing for the Charity said “Through our helpline we offer practical guidance from information specialists and emotional support from qualified counsellors and in the past practical guidance made up around 60% of the support requests we received. We have seen that switch with almost 70% of calls during 2021 for emotional support and counselling.
We know from our own on-trade research, carried out by KAM Media in November 2021, that people across the sector have found it more challenging to maintain good mental wellbeing during the last 12 months. 45% of respondents said that their mental health had been negatively impacted since the start of Covid-19. The biggest factors negatively impacting their mental wellbeing have been reduced income, increased pressure due to staff shortages and uncertainty about job security. Sadly over 1 in 3 (33%) on-trade respondents have (or know a colleague who has) experienced a mental health issue.
Licensed hospitality people are a resilient bunch and despite the struggles for many, 61% of respondents highlighted that keeping in regular contact with colleagues, friends and family had positively impacted their mental wellbeing and 1 in 5 said that increasing their physical activity and taking part in mindfulness activities had also had a positive impact.”
The Charity offers telephone counselling for individuals through its helpline as part of their free core support service. In response to the rise in awareness of mental health issues, focus on improving mental wellbeing and increased demand for emotional support it launched counselling for couples and children during 2021.
Licensed Trade Charity, CEO, Jim Brewster, added “I am proud of the range of services we offer the licensed trade and the fact that it is all delivered without cost to operators or individuals. Our team deliver a fantastic, professional service. They understand what our industry needs and adapt our range of support to meet those needs”.
