Bechtel will spend $7 million over the next five years to start a partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that both say is aimed specifically at the construction industry.
The contribution will fund an initiative to develop industry-specific programming, training and materials to reach 500,000 construction workers over the next five years, the contractor and foundation announced March 5 in Washington, DC, saying the promise of the Bechtel Group Foundation is the greatest. contribution of a single organization to the group in its history.
A task force tasked with identifying best practice and the best way forward was convened for the first time following a roundtable discussion of industry, mental health advocates and union leaders.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, construction is second only to mining in terms of suicide rates. “It’s a shameful statistic, and we won’t rest until we change it,” said Brendan Bechtel, Bechtel’s president and CEO.
He said that just as industry has reduced injury incident rates after making safety a priority, it can reduce worker suicides. On all Bechtel projects, the company now trains project team leaders and “volunteer first responders” to provide mental health education and training to workers in addition to standard safety instruction.
“All of us who work in construction have seen advances in physical safety that were once unimaginable have become the standard for success,” said Sean McGarvey, president of the Construction Unions of North America (NABTU). “It’s time to bring the same mindset, resources and innovation to the issue of mental health and suicide prevention.” He said the building trades plan to announce a new program related to “psychological safety” at their next legislative conference in late April.
Suicide prevention programs have existed in the construction industry for decades. But according to Robert Gebbia, CEO of the suicide prevention group, efforts have so far been fragmented.
“This is an industry-wide initiative. We’ve worked bit by bit with different groups … but never anything like this that’s so industry-wide and sustainable over a long period,” he said, adding that suicide prevention efforts cannot be “one and done”. They have to be sustainable…and change the culture you work in.”
Based on existing knowledge
The initiative hopes to follow examples set by programs that have already experienced some success in reducing suicide rates. These include programs in the US Air Force and a construction-specific program in the UK, Mates in Mind. Since it was established in 2017, the latter has attracted more than 700 support organizations, some of which have experienced a decrease in stress-related absences and an increase in employee retention rates in their workforce, according to the organization’s website.
Bechtel invited other groups and companies to participate in the initiative. “There is no unique, Bechtel-specific way to promote mental health,” he said. “We’re trying to build the biggest tent we can because everybody wins if we get even a little bit better at this.”
The new fund investments are “a great testament to the momentum of the building mental health movement.” said Sally Spencer-Thomas, co-chair of the Construction Working Minds Summit and ENR 2021 news editor. More than 450 people attended this year’s summit, held February 24-26 in Kansas City, Missouri .
At this event, attendees shared personal stories related to mental health struggles and how to use them to help others. Summit leaders also released a white paper highlighting progress and next steps to improve mental health in construction
“Many look forward to the collaborations and continued advancement of the impact that is envisioned,” Spencer-Thomas said.
