Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than from job site-related injuries and four times more likely to commit suicide than the average American.
To address this issue, NYC BCTC has launched the Building Trades Peer Support Network (BTPSN). This important program is designed to reduce suicide rates and mitigate the adverse impacts of stress among workers in New York City’s unionized construction industry.
“The creation of the Building Trades Peer Support Network is a critical step toward treating mental health with the same seriousness as physical safety on our job sites,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of NYC BCTC. ” “Far too many construction workers are lost each year to suicide, and this initiative recognizes that protecting our workforce and ensuring they return home to their families each day also means recognizing their mental health.’
This initiative was made possible through funding from The New York Building Foundation, the charitable arm of the New York Building Congress, which covered the cost of developing a training curriculum that was built in partnership with the NYC BCTC, Local Unions Affiliated MAP Directors, and The Worker Institute at Cornell.
“‘It is not weak to speak’ is a phrase used in relation to this peer support network, and this work being done to destigmatize mental health issues will transform our industry,” said Carlo Scissura, President and CEO of New York Building Congress. “For far too long, too many workers have needed help they could not find, but this program — spearheaded by Gary LaBarbera and the Building Trades and delivered by the Cornell Worker Initiative — will light the way for workers to find that help in each other.”
Through this curriculum, the Building Trades Peer Support Network will build a network of approximately 1,000 rank-and-file Peer Supporters throughout the trades who will: Offer confidential peer-to-peer support on job sites. Conduct basic risk assessments during conversations. Refer medium or high-risk cases to MAP directors and/or union-designated support staff, which will automatically initiate a referral process for direct counseling, care, or suicide prevention methods. Maintain professional boundaries and limit initiating contact, except in specific and rare circumstances addressed in training.
“Through the mobilization of a Peer Supporter Network across job sites in New York City, BCTC alongside Cornell and the New York Building Foundation, is giving workers the tools to look out for themselves and each other,” said LaBarbera. “This program will save lives and sends a clear message that the men and women who build this city their entire well-being truly matters.”
