Gattaca : 500 engineers access mental health support via Gattaca & Footholds Wellbeing hub

In March of 2020, Gattaca worked in collaboration with our charity partner Foothold to launch a new Wellbeing hub in response to a significant increase in engineers and technologists seeking mental health support services, including help for anxiety, depression, and other mental health difficulties.

We are pleased to report that in the six months since it launched, Foothold has reported over 500 people have accessed support.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created a public mental health crisis, leaving gaps in the service provision to be filled by the charity sector. In response to the growing need for support, the engineering charity launched the online platform - funded in part by Gattaca's fundraising efforts - giving users free, on-demand access to clinically approved resources and techniques to support their mental wellbeing.

Gattaca's Chief Customer Officer, Matthew Wragg, commented on the overwhelmingly succesful launch:

"We consider it a fantastic achievement to have been able to support over 500 people since the launch of the Wellbeing hub. The people we've helped are our candidates, our clients. They are our community, and this work has made a material impact on their lives. So, I thank and applaud the combined efforts of the teams at Gattaca and Foothold, who have provided a safe space and a body of excellent resource for those in need - particularly in these unprecedented times."

The hub features clinically verified e-learning sessions on topics such as anxiety, depression, work stress, substance abuse and others. It also offers support on pandemic-related challenges like redundancy and isolation.

Foothold's chief executive officer, Jane Petit, said:

"We launched the Wellbeing Hub in March following a three-fold increase in requests for our support since the start of the pandemic. Addressing and improving mental wellbeing is particularly important because our state of mind impacts our ability to handle pressure in other areas of life. We're proud to be able to support the engineering community in this way and pleased the hub has been able to support over 500 people."

This coming Sunday (10th October 2021) is World Mental Health Day. To mark this day and in celebration of the 500+ people who have accessed support via the Wellbeing hub, teams from across the Gattaca group will be taking part in a variety of fundraising activities. In total, their combined efforts aim to raise £5,124. This sum represents not only those who have accessed the Foothold mental health support resources, but also over 2,000 unemployed candidates that the Gattaca group successfully reintegrated into the workplace and the 2,500 clients assisted with the delivery of insights, webinars and workshops throughout the pandemic. For details of our fundraising efforts, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Gattaca .

As we continue to feel the aftershocks of the past eighteen months, the Foothold Wellbeing hub remains a invaluable resource. The platform is free to use for all engineers, technologists and their families worldwide. Find out more at https://www.myfoothold.org/wellbeinghub/.