Last week, CSPP had the opportunity to attend the Construction Working Minds Summit in Kansas City, Missouri. This year we were able to be a sponsor and set up an exhibit booth at the conference. The theme for the 2023 conference was Building Out the Mental Health Movement: Moving from Awareness to Impact in Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
Throughout the conference, we met and shared materials with contractors, union representatives, government employees, and business owners from all over the country dedicated to preventing suicide and substance misuse prevention in the construction industry.
The days were packed with keynotes and breakout sessions focused on different approaches to fostering psychological safety, creative leadership, suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention in the construction industry.
Here Are Some Highlights:
On the first day, Dr. Sally Spencer Thomas delivered a keynote speech on moving from awareness building to action. We heard from OSHA representatives and multiple panels on what different sectors of the construction community are doing to address suicide. We finished the day off by attending two breakout sessions. One breakout focused on how storytelling plays a vital role in preventing suicides and encouraging treatment, and the other dealt with critical incident response protocol after a mental health emergency.
Substance abuse prevention was the focus of the second day of the conference. The National Safety Council shared an interactive calculator to help construction companies learn the cost of substance use disorders and the return on investment treatment in the construction industry. Many people who came to our booth were interested in our Rethink the Drink materials, which underscores the movement toward connecting substance abuse information with suicide prevention.
The conference concluded with the Award Ceremony and impact statement. Max was part of the committee that determined this year’s winners. Many fantastic prevention efforts are happening throughout the country. Finally, Craig Miller from the International Union of Painters gave a powerful speech about struggling, overcoming, and living with suicidal ideation.
We are grateful we were able to attend this conference, talk with people from all over the country, and explore Kansas City. From the barbeque to the World War I Museum, and the headquarters of Hallmark, Kansas City was a treat to visit.
