This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Editor’s Note: This story focuses on the topic of mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
Dive Brief:
- The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has created new partnerships to boost the spread of its Hard Hat Courage initiative, aimed at reducing the rate of suicides in construction.
- AFSP has partnered with Construction Unions of North America and CPWR: The Center for Construction Research and Training to reach millions of additional craft professionals, according to an April 1 announcement shared with Construction Dive.
- Originally created in partnership with Reston, Virginia-based Bechtel, Hard Hat Courage aims to embed mental health and suicide prevention to the everyday practices of the workplace.
Diving knowledge:
The construction has the second highest suicide rate of any American industry, behind mining, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The collaboration between AFSP, union member group NABTU and safety data researcher CPWR aims to reduce this rate by developing shared core standards. This includes learning objectives for suicide prevention awareness training and education, as well as exploration of peer-based suicide prevention training aligned with workplace roles.
Hard Hat Courage will also look to partner with other organizations in the industry to expand awareness and adoption.
Bechtel initially pushed the program in March 2024, when it did pledged $7 million to the AFSP — at the time, the largest donation to the nonprofit in its history. In September, Hard Hat Courage shared which had reached 188,000 construction professionals, indicating progress towards its goal of reaching 500,000 workers within five years of the donation.
“Hard Hat Courage was always intended to move the entire construction industry forward,” Brendan Bechtel, Bechtel’s president and CEO, said in the statement. “By bringing together organizations like NABTU and CPWR, we’re expanding this industry-wide effort so that all craft professionals have the awareness, tools and support to look after themselves and others.”
Since its founding, industry leaders, including NABTU President Sean McGarvey, have served on Hard Hat Courage’s CEO Advisory Board.
“Our members build America. We must also build a culture where it’s standard practice to talk about mental health and take action early,” McGarvey said in the statement. “By recommending benchmarks to our affiliates and beyond, we are making that expectation clear and consistent.”
Other collectives are also working to raise awareness about the issue of construction. Since 2020, the Kansas City-based Construction Suicide Prevention Week has held an annual event of the same name to bring attention to the issue. His fifth achievement ended in September.
In early March, the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York launched its Peer support network of construction trades focus on the mental health of workers. The program aims to train 1,000 rank-and-file peers in all trades, empowering them to become resources for their colleagues.
This is not the first partnership between NABTU and CPWR. In February, the groups shared data indicating the rate of deaths from suicide and overdoses had decreased in construction by 2024. They attributed the decreases to numerous factors, including reduced stigma around substance use and mental health, along with improved treatment and recovery support in the industry.
