and even line employees must be aware of the company’s commitment to addressing risk factors and preventing suicide. CIASP wants to encourage construction industry employers to do whatever it takes to prevent possible suicides. Making suicide part of the company conversation allows people to get comfortable with the topic and be more likely to speak up if help is needed. CIASP asks that everyone STAND up to prevent suicide in the construction industry: Safe: Create a culture in which team members feel safe to ask for help or speak up if concerned about their fellow co‑workers. Training: Make suicide prevention training available to all team members so they can recognize the warning signs and be equipped to help those at risk. Awareness: Raise awareness by sharing the message of suicide prevention through organizational activities such as training, safety meetings, toolbox talks, team meetings, newsletters and social media posts. Normalizing: Normalize the topic of suicide prevention as a health and safety priority by talking about suicide, suicide prevention and mental health. Decreasing: Help decrease the risk of suicide in construction by ensuring all team members have access to an awareness of CIASP’s action plans, behavioral health benefits, screening tools, community crisis support, the suicide prevention lifeline and crisis text line. CIASP is not the only organization concerned with suicide prevention in the workplace. ABC National has developed a program to empower employers to help their employees. As stated on abc.org, “ABC members care about their employees. Not only do they want to send them home safe at the end of the shift, but they also want them to live a healthy lifestyle and enjoy the abundance life has to offer through their careers and beyond.” The Total Human Health Initiative encompasses multiple dimensions of health and is organized into four simple and easy-to-remember categories: Body, Heart, Mind and Soul. Total Human Health is focused on building a resilient workforce connected through relationships and engaged in performing construction work to a high standard of safety, quality and effectiveness. The workforce is our most important resource, with individuals who are highly skilled and ready to build the places where America lives, learns, works, heals, plays and prays. We cannot achieve anything without our workforce. The driving imperative behind Total Human Health in our labor-intensive industry is twofold: 1. Address the changing demographics of the workforce and the workforce shortage in the skilled trades. 2. Work to reduce the high suicide rate among construction workers. Employers should incorporate mental health protections to prevent suicide in the workplace. To help employers establish guidelines to create a healthy workplace, ABC has provided a toolkit for leaders to review and start making healthy changes. Scan the QR code to download the PDF. https://www.abc.org/Portals/1/ Total%20Human%20Health/Total%20 Human%20Health%20Initiative%20 Toolkit%20FINAL%2005082024.pdf There are also assessment tools that management teams can fill out to determine areas where improvement is needed. Scan the QR code to download the assessment tools. https://nationalconnections.abc.org/ Portals/10/Documents/ABC%20Total%20 Human%20Health%20Assessment-FINAL_ UPDATED_LOGO.pdf?ver=2021-10-20-133454710×tamp=1634751497771 Perhaps the easiest way to communicate the earnestness with which your company addresses suicide prevention is to make sure they see that you do. You can easily do this with posters strategically placed in breakrooms, Making suicide part of the company conversation allows people to get comfortable with the topic and be more likely to speak up if help is needed. 24
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