Construction Safety Week began early for CSPP staff. In late April, we did toolbox talks on mental health awareness and available CSPP resources at a Turner Construction site in Downtown Portland and a Stacy Witbeck site in East Portland.
During safety week, we enjoy engaging with construction workers onsite to raise awareness, share resources, and provide a platform for their crews to share stories. At the Turner and Stacy Witbeck sites, crew members shared personal stories emphasizing the importance of suicide and substance abuse prevention.
In addition to our toolbox talks, we wrapped our QPR series(virtual and in-person) for ACME and ODOT. Last Friday, Emily delivered a QPR for Cochran Construction at IBEW-48.
As a reminder, CSPP offers a free virtual QPR training every month. Our May Training is Friday, May, 24 8:00-9:30 AM (PT). You can register here!
Lastly, Emily attended the Oregon Conference on Opioids + Other Drugs (OPAT) in Sunriver, Oregon. She attended sessions addressing addiction, effective treatment options, and impactful first-hand experiences. Opioids significantly impact the construction industry as a risk factor for suicide. At OPAT, a prominent topic of discussion was how we can dismantle the socioeconomic and social stigma surrounding substance use disorders and eliminate barriers that hinder workers from accessing treatment for both pain management and addiction.
If you want to learn more about ways to understand and address the impact opioids have on the construction, we can provide presentations and resources.
We will share more Safety Week Outreach in our next blog!
As always, if you are interested in having us deliver a toolbox talk for your company, please contact, Emily Haro at emilyh@linesforlife.org or Max Margolis at maxm@linesforlife.org
