Getting help when it’s needed most Eliminating the stigmas and stereotypes around mental health and drug addiction is the mission of an award-winning labor-management initiative.
© Can Stock Photo / Deskcube
By / Michael McConnell
If you ask many contractors how they prevent construction accidents, they’ll probably talk about their extensive training, safety culture, and experienced workforce. But if you ask those same contractors what they’re doing to prevent employee suicides, they might not have an answer, even though suicide claims almost five times more construction workers annually than job site accidents. Chris Carlough and Justin Crandol are two people working to change those figures. They have a shared goal of ensuring no signatory sheet metal workers suffer from mental health or drug abuse problems. Carlough is the SMART Member Assistance Program (SMART Map) coordinator. He oversees the union’s efforts to help workers who are or may be struggling with addiction or mental health issues. Crandol is SMACNA’s safety director.
Chris Carlough
Justin Crandol
With the support of the jointly funded Sheet Metal Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) and administrator Aldo Zambetti, Carlough and Crandol have been working for over a decade to increase awareness of the problem. Carlough will lead updated SMART Map workshops across North America this year to educate contractors and their employees about the signs of trouble and how they can help. It’s a subject that Carlough, a 60-year-old, third-generation sheet metal worker, knows well. For almost 40 years, he’s been in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. It hasn’t been a smooth journey—Carlough relapsed after 16 years of sobriety—but it’s one that he wants to share with people who may be facing the same struggle. “I’m in a place right now where I can reach a lot of people,” Carlough says. “It’s a major problem in the construction industry and, really, lots of industries. We have one of the highest rates of substance use disorder, and we have one of the highest rates of suicide. It was just time to start talking about it.” Crandol agrees. He says SMACNA was one of the founding members of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a five-year-old group whose mission is to make the industry suicide-free and remove barriers to getting treatment. Working with other associations, such as the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the Association of Union Constructors (TAUC), and the Mechanical Contractors Partners in Progress » July / August 2023 » 9