“I can’t get a hold of your mom. He’s dead. Uncle Bruce is dead.” It’s a memory that comes up every once in a while. Me replaying the moment my cousin Kerri frantically called me to tell me the news that my uncle had died by suicide.
I wasn’t necessarily close with my uncle growing up. He was six years older than my mom and built a life in Colorado while we stayed in California. But it was still heartbreaking. Especially since my Aunt Gemma, his wife of 30 years, had died by suicide exactly one year and one month before I received that call. Two suicides in just over a year for our family.
The news of Aunt Gemma the year before was a shock. No one in our family knew she was struggling. And I can’t help but think that if she had lived, my uncle would’ve been around longer, and might still be here today. But that’s all wishful thinking. My only hope now is that they both are resting easy.
There was a moment last year around this time where I kept feeling this pull to cover the human costs impacting the trades. The reality that we’re losing people year after year to suicide in construction at truly alarming rates – 4 times higher compared to the general population (osha.gov). A glaring signal that something is deeply wrong with how we’re currently operating.
On World Suicide Prevention Day last year, I spent its entirety deep in thought – researching papers, watching videos, gathering what information and articles I could find. How do we fix this? If I’m advocating for people to go into these careers, how the hell do we fix this?
That evening I took my daughter to the park. I couldn’t stop thinking about the research from the day. How did we get here? Why does it still persist? What conditions do we need to change so we have different outcomes? While at the park my daughter wanted to swing next to this young girl whose father had just placed her in a swing. I started up a conversation with the dad asking what the little girl’s name was. He said Gemma. It took my breath away. The only other person I knew named Gemma was my aunt. Given where I spent much of that day, it felt like a little nudge to keep going.
It sent me down a path looking for answers and towards the people unafraid to share their truths, experiences, and what they are doing at ground level to change the human outcomes for current workers, their families, and ultimately this next generation. It led to:
Angelo Suntres and his platform Human Side of Construction, who’s bringing these conversations to the forefront with a mission to improve the human experience within the industry
Josh & Amy Vitale running Project BUILT who are taking a wholistic approach to suicide prevention by starting with the family unit
Cal Beyer at SAFE Project (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic), a 30+ year construction veteran and one of the earliest architects of construction’s mental health movement in the U.S.
Stephanie Lemek and her company, The Wounded Workforce, who’s reshaping how we approach mental health, trauma, and resilience at work
John Burcaw with the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest, who’s arguably leading one of the best apprenticeship programs with wraparound mental health support in the U.S.
Angela Hucker, founder and CEO of EPIC a social enterprise in Australia, advocating for leadership, psychosocial safety and construction workplace reform
Trevor Botkin, a Red Seal Carpenter building Canada’s first workplace adjacent and worker-led mental health and recovery network for skilled and industrial trades called MusterPoint
These are people who turned their own pain into purpose – who are building the support workers need, so that no one has to carry this alone.
If you’re struggling – or you’re worried about someone who is – you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time.