Titanic Belfast makes disability and mental health commitments
11/07/2018
Titanic Belfast is latest signatory to the Mental Health Charter and ‘Every Customer Counts’ initiative.
The Equality Commission has welcomed Titanic Belfast as the latest signatory to both its Mental Health Charter and its ‘Every Customer Counts’ initiative.
Eileen Lavery, Head of Division, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said: “It is encouraging that this world renowned attraction, which draws visitors from across the world to Belfast, is signing up to our Mental Health Charter and our ‘Every Customer Counts’ initiative. The commitment to both of these is a public statement of Titanic Belfast’s intention to improve where possible its service to people with disabilities; and to support any staff members who have mental health issues.”
‘Every Customer Counts’ gives businesses the opportunity to focus on how they offer their services to people with disabilities of all kinds. The changes required may be small and subtle or big and bold, but it is vitally important that no-one should be denied the opportunity to participate and enjoy excellent facilities like this. By signing the Mental Health Charter, Titanic Belfast also signals its commitment to helping employees who may be experiencing difficulties at work due to mental illness.
“Both disability and mental ill health have profound effects on the population here. In Northern Ireland 21% of the adult population and 5% of children have a disability, while research shows that 1 in 4 people in Northern Ireland experience mental ill health at some point. Dealing with these issues can be a challenge for employers and service providers in Northern Ireland.”
Eileen Lavery concluded: “We are delighted to have Titanic Belfast as a signatory and we acknowledge the work it has already done in developing an attraction that accommodates people with a disability - from accessibility, to the sensory exhibits, and the time taken to train staff. We will continue to work with Titanic Belfast on delivering these commitments. We hope that their involvement will inspire other businesses and organisations to think about how they can improve their service for both their clients and employees.”
“At Titanic Belfast, we are very proud to be consistently recognised as industry leaders on a local, national and international level for our accessibility standards. With over 11 million people with a disability in Britain, we are committed to highlighting the issue of access in its many forms and encourage industry improvements for both visitors and staff alike. Signing the Equality Commissions’ Mental Health Charter and its ‘Every Customer Counts’ initiative is our way of ensuring we continue to not only meet but exceed our visitors and staff access requirements,” said Heather Graham, Head of Human Resources, Titanic Belfast.
Titanic Belfast has now welcomed over 4.4 million visitors and was named the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction in the prestigious World Travel Awards in 2016. For more information, visit www.titanicbelfast.com.
Note to Editor
- Further information on ‘Every Customer Counts’ is available online
- Further information on the Mental Health Charter which is a joint initiative between the Equality Commission and a number of mental health charities is available online