Song urges builders to talk about mental health

**Song urges builders to talk about mental health**

Ben Francis wants men working in construction to be more open about how they are feeling.

A construction company manager is using music to encourage more men in the industry to talk about their mental health after the death of his uncle.

Ben Francis, from Bruton, Somerset, wrote a song to raise awareness and money for mental health charities after his uncle, Jonathan Carpenter, took his own life in December 2023.

Jonathan was a "meticulous carpenter" and Francis hopes his uncle's story, along with his song, will strike a cord with other construction workers and encourage them to open up about their mental health.

"I want natural construction voices to come and be heard and help me share the message that we should be talking about mental health in construction."

"It takes a little bit of strength to say how you're feeling, so think of it as a good thing," he said.

"In the industry we haven't done it and mental health awareness has been around for while now and what I want to do is take a bit more action."

Jonathan helped Ben build his first guitar aged six and write his first song at 10.

Francis has worked in the industry since 15 and now runs his family business.

Construction sites are known for their banter and camaraderie, but Francis believes things are not always as they appear.

"[It was] a terrible moment because [my uncle] felt like he couldn't reach out and talk about how he was feeling," he said.

"Even for the guys who might have had an inkling, no one really knew how to deal with what was going on.

"I think he was struggling personally, he was going through what a lot of guys go through, he was 50 and sort of in a mid-life crisis moment and unsure of what he was doing.

"He had lost a lot of confidence in what he was doing and I think all these things snowballed."

Studies have shown that talking and being part of an active community can help improve overall mental health, and Francis hopes bringing that into construction could make a big difference.

"If you ask guys on site how they're doing, the common phrase is 'living the dream' and we all know that's sarcasm," he said.

"I think that each day the pulling pranks and joking is just a way of dealing with issues in their own way but actually they're not speaking to anybody.

"We should be talking on site and just being able to open up about our feelings."

Jonathan was a keen musician and began making music at a very young age.

He passed that love of music on to his nephew and helped him write his first song when he was just 10 years old.

Francis has now released a new single called Smile in the Dirt, which highlights the pressures of working in the industry and urges people to talk about how they are feeling.

The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and all proceeds will go to four mental health charities.