Emphasizing suicide prevention among construction workers

With September being Suicide Prevention Month, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) is calling on the construction industry to strengthen health among its workers and decrease the number of deaths by suicide.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reported that the construction industry had one of the highest rates of death by suicide among workers: 5,242 in 2018. That number is five times higher than U.S. construction worker fatalities on jobsites.

“This is a national tragedy and we must end these unprecedented, unacceptable and devastating deaths among our colleagues,” says Greg Sizemore, vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development at ABC. “Construction workers work with tools every day, and we must equip these 7.7 million workers with the tools they need to prioritize mental health and protect their emotional well-being. They will use them.

“It is time to shatter the stigma surrounding mental health issues with the goal of creating a zero-suicide industry,” Sizemore adds. “Employers can build a resilient workforce by providing access to resources to improve total human health: physical, mental, emotional, social, mental, intellectual, financial, occupational and spiritual wellness.”

Through a partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, ABC says it provides construction workers and employers with resources such as free suicide prevention training, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline call center, the Crisis Text Line and toolbox talks. ABC also collaborates with speakers who can provide in-person, recorded and online education on suicide awareness, prevention and postvention.