The Drinks Trust, the drinks industry charity, has partnered with The Burnt Chef Project, a registered non-profit within the UK which challenges mental health stigma within the hospitality industry, to provide enhanced mental health support services to the drinks and hospitality sector by accessing The Drinks Trusts 24/7 helpline.

According to the latest survey launched by The Burnt Chef Project, 40% of respondents have struggled with their mental health over the past 12 months, with around 1 in 6 reporting it has been not good. General managers are seemingly those finding the pressures impacting their mental health the most, with 42% reporting a decline in the overall level of mental wellbeing since reopening. However, 60% of individuals report feeling okay or better about working in the industry, showing that a large proportion of the workforce is keen to stay, highlighted by 33% of those not currently working within hospitality looking to return within the next 12 months.

The Burnt Chef Project launched its existing text support service in February 2021, which seeks to bring users to a place of calm when in need of immediate support. Through this partnership, the charities aim to reach and provide support to even more colleagues facing mental health difficulties by adding The Drinks Trust helplines services to their support offerings.

The Drinks Trusts confidential helpline was extended last year to a 24/7 support line, with all calls answered by counsellors and clinically trained psychotherapists to help callers receive in the moment support to help them cope more effectively with any personal or work-related problems they may be experiencing.

The free 24/7 helpline is available on 0800 9154610, by contacting helpline@drinkstrust.org.uk or by sending "Hi" on Whatsapp to 00 353 87 369 0010.

The helpline also offers an internal referral to over 30 various online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) courses, each with different themes. It also includes the option to have up to six specialist 1:1 telephone sessions according to assessed need and covering: legal advice, mediation support, life and career coaching, financial advice, consumer advice and parenting coaching.

Nicola Burston, operations manager at The Drinks Trust said:"We are extremely pleased to have partnered with The Burnt Chef Project and to extend our helpline services to their stakeholders. Through this association, we aim to extend the message of our services to even more people who are suffering from any form of mental health difficulty and dont know wher to turn to. The Drinks Trust, as The Burnt Chef Project, is fully committed in removing the stigma surrounding mental health, so please, if you are not feeling okay get in contact with our helpline. You are really not alone in this."

Kris Hall, founder of The Burnt Chef Project said:"We are thrilled to be able to extend our existing text support service which aims to provide immediate relief to those who need it. Through our partnership with The Drinks Trust, we can now do even more to support the hospitality community through its toughest period to-date. By providing complimentary access to The Drinks Trust to the growing Burnt Chef community we are now able to provide mid-term assistance around a wealth of concerns as well as immediate help when its needed."