Addressing Behavioral Health and Suicide in Construction


BY RICHARD JONES, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER, YOUTURN HEALTH, AND BRIDGET KELLY, VICE PRESIDENT OF GROWTH AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, YOUTURN HEALTH


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ver the past 25 years our country has experienced one of the most consequential and protracted


public health crises in the history of mankind. Tis crisis goes well beyond the “opioid


epidemic” and touches nearly every aspect of our lives. Te term “deaths of despair” has been used to describe this behavioral health apocalypse, and the numbers are deeply troubling. Deaths of despair encompass suicides, unintentional overdoses, and death caused by chronic alcohol misuse.


CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MAY/JUNE 2024


Unfortunately, this number has grown ex- ponentially over the decades escalating to record numbers over the past several years. Furthermore, deaths of despair have impacted blue collar workers in a dis- proportionate manner. A headline in STAT news captures this stark reality: “Deaths of despair: the unrecognized tragedy of working-class immersion” (www.statnews.com/2021/12/29/ deaths-of-despair-unrecognized-trag- edy-working-class-immiseration/). Te construction industry has been hit


especially hard by these deaths of de- spair – and unfortunately, the situation appears to be getting worse.


Grim Construction Statistics Studies by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that construction has the highest rate of overdose deaths and the second highest rate of suicides compared to all other U.S. industries. Te truth is these construction numbers are astro- nomical when compared to the general population. Tree statistics stand-out:


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