Preventing suicide occupies people’s thoughts in various industries: teaching, food service, emergency first responders, air traffic controllers, and the construction/asphalt industry. When suicide happens, it affects not only the families and friends of the victim but co-workers too. According to SAFE.org, there is one suicide death every 11-and-a-half minutes, and for every suicide death, there are 25 suicide attempts. It is the twelfth leading cause of death in the U.S. Less than three years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the construction industry (including asphalt production) had one of the highest rates of death by suicide – 5,242 in 2018 – a number five times higher than jobsite fatalities in the U.S. On the first day of Suicide Prevention Month 2022 (September), Associated Builders and Contractors called upon the entire construction industry to strengthen human health and decrease the number of deaths by suicide among its workers. “This is a national tragedy, and we must end these unprecedented, unacceptable and devastating deaths among our colleagues,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Workforce Development. “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.” Indeed, the idea of skyrocketing numbers of suicide victims within the construction industry came to the attention of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) in 2016. The group, now known as the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP), gathers support from unions, associations, contractors and mental health organizations across the nation. Some of the largest organizations in the construction industry support CIASP’s efforts, including the Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Association of Home Builders and The Associated General Contractors of America. MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE LET’S TALK ABOUT IT “It is time to shatter the stigma surrounding mental health issues with the goal of creating a zerosuicide industry.” 24
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