The story behind mystery signs that have popped up in Birmingham city centre
Mystery signs have stopped Birmingham city centre shoppers in their tracks throughout today, November 14. The powerful signs were put up on Thursday morning outside Birmingham's Pigeon Park on Temple Row West.
There are two construction signs with a pile of hard hats next to them. The first sign read: "No support" and was on a red background. The second sign read: "X days without support."
The display was put up to raise concerns about mental health in the building industry - and was attracting attention from people passing by on Thursday. They are connected to Project 7000: The Lost City campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the 7,000 construction workers who have died by suicide in the last decade in the UK.
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It is a strong message, with organisers hoping the powerful display prompts people to think about the impact of the construction industry. As Birmingham continues to have multiple ongoing construction projects, organisers want people to think about often hidden mental health impact in the building industry.
Project 7000: The Lost City said their objective is to raise £2.5million for therapy sessions to save the next 7,000 construction workers. The QR code installed directly beside their Birmingham display takes you to the project site, which you can read more about here.
According to the project, the figure is a "crisis" but one that it is "unknown" outside the industry. The signs popped up in towns and cities across the UK, including Cardiff, as WalesOnline reported.
According to the project, the 7000 figure is a "crisis" but one that it is "unknown" outside the industry. On their website, their campaign reads: "This is the city that will never be built. Because the 7,000 construction workers it would take to build it have died by suicide in the last decade.
"The construction industry has a suicide rate four times the national average. It's a crisis, but one that's relatively unknown outside the industry. By visualising exactly what they could have built, The Lost City addresses this crisis, showing the true scale of construction suicides. This is the city that could exist if the construction suicide crisis didn't."
7,000 hard hats will be placed across the UK in 10 cities as part of the campaign. In addition to Birmingham and Cardiff, London, Bristol and Nottingham are other cities that will see similar displays.