Bringing the Tough Stuff to the Fore
Mandi Kime has dedicated her career to saving lives by reducing stigmatization around mental health. Her work is especially important considering the construction industry has a suicide rate of 53.2 per 100,000 U.S. workers, which is four times the national average.
“I introduced the AGC America National Safety Committee to the suicide statistics for our industry while hosting the national safety conference in 2019,” said Mandi, Director of Safety at Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Washington. “I recited statistics on suicide from my state and national statistics, and challenged my peers in that audience to pay attention to the humanity of our workforce. We cannot call ourselves safety and health professionals if we aren’t willing to address these statistics head-on.”
In early 2022, after finishing her master’s degree in Safety and Health Management, Mandi again stood before the AGC of America to present the research from her thesis—best practices for mental health and suicide prevention for construction employees—and was inundated with personal stories from colleagues who also wanted to curb these statistics.
It was clear to Mandi there was a widespread need for worker mental health advocacy in her community. Together with colleague Brandon Anderson, the AGC Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Task Force was created. Today, the task force has 16 members and hundreds of partners.
Mandi Kime, Director of Safety at Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Washington
“Our number-one goal is to create a national, free clearinghouse of suicide prevention materials,” said Mandi of the task force. The suicide prevention materials have also been made free and publicly accessible to AGC’s competitors and non-members. “There is no such thing as plagiarism in safety, so if anyone wants to work on this for their industry, we have all our sources and resources available.”
Not only does the task force provide resources to advocate for worker mental health and reduce stigma, but it also hosts forums to share information, resources, and opportunities. “We use the forums to seek input from attendees and partners on what successes they are having that are worth replicating, and what challenges still exist,” said Mandi. “That input really informs and inspires the work the task force does.” The task force is hoping to launch an Ambassador program next to expand their reach.
Kabri Lehrman-Schmid, superintendent at Hensel Phelps Construction and creator of the Toolbox Talk and Resource Bulletin, frequently speaks on neurodiversity and mental health in the workplace. Kabri explained how over the past five years, interest in suicide awareness has grown across the country in response to the National Violent Death Reporting System from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). “The CDC identifies the construction industry as having the second highest rate of suicide in the U.S. Male construction managers have the fifth highest rate of all professions,” said Kabri. “Training efforts in our industry have been largely generalized education on suicide warning signs until recently—they did not resonate with the language we use or the work we do daily.”
Mandi’s suicide prevention advocacy work has also expanded to the AGC Culture of Care program, which she and a colleague wrote. The program was so successful in their chapter that AGC of America adopted it, modified it, and launched an initiative based on their efforts.
“I think the most important thing I want to share about advocating for mental health for everyone is that we need upstream interventions,” said Mandi. “This is so much bigger than hard hat stickers and flyers and wallet cards. This is about normalizing the conversations around self-care, coping and resilience, and getting help (in any form—medication, therapy, self-learning and accountability), and reducing stigma. We have so many remarkable humans doing work in our industry. They should all get to go home safe, and also come to work safe. We help that reality by creating a workplace that is inclusive, encouraging, and safe—physically and psychologically.”
Mental health and suicide prevention resources
988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (available 24 hours in English and Spanish).
The AGC Construction Association provides mental health and suicide prevention resources and sources.
Visit Culture of Care to learn more about creating a diverse, safe, welcoming and inclusive construction industry.
Free suicide prevention training for the construction industry is available here.