A Word From AGCVA Chair, Chris Shifflett

Suicide Prevention Month: A Safety Priority We Can’t Ignore

When we talk about safety in construction, we often think about the things that are visual or tangible like safety helmets, harnesses, safety glasses, orange fencing and barricades. Most of the jobsite toolbox talks are centered around these things.

There’s another danger we typically don’t see and recognize as easily—and it’s claiming more lives than the typical jobsite accidents…Suicide.

The numbers are sobering:

• Construction accounts for nearly 18% of all suicides among U.S. workers, despite making up only 7% of the workforce.
• Male construction workers die by suicide at a rate of 56 per 100,000—almost double the average across all industries.
• Suicide is four to five times more common in construction than in the general population.

No one can know what the driver(s) are for someone to make that choice but we do know some of the contributing factors. Job performance, job insecurity, long hours, chronic injuries or health issues, financial concerns, family and the list goes on.

For some reason there is a stigma around talking about mental health, but this has to change! Mental health is as much a part of safety as wearing your safety vest and gloves. The message is clear: mental health is safety and we must address it.

Suicide Prevention Month is our opportunity to bring awareness to this crisis, equip our teams with resources, and create a culture where asking for help is a sign of strength. AGCVA is committed to supporting our members with training, peer-to-peer programs, and tools that make mental wellness part of every safety plan.

This month —and every month—I ask you to take one action: IF you see a coworker struggling or acting out of the ordinary, check in with a them, share a resource, or start a conversation. Together, we can save lives.

Also make sure everyone knows this…..If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not alone.