Boom Goes The Stigma

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and while we primarily focus on suicide in the construction industry, we must talk about alcohol and its impact on mental health. Construction workers are more likely to drink excessively, use substances, and face mental health challenges.

Construction has one of the highest rates of excessive alcohol use.
Nationally, alcohol intoxication is involved in 22% of all suicides. If we want
to red...

Opioids In Construction 

Recent data indicates that construction workers have one of the highest rates of opioid overdoses. They are also 20% more likely than the general public to receive opioid prescriptions, often for stronger opioids. Why is this the case? The construction industry is labor-intensive by nature, and hard physical labor often leads to chronic pain. With the pressure to meet deadlines and stay within budget, worker...

The construction industry has the second highest rate of suicide. Yet, the stigma associated with being vulnerable about personal struggles or asking for support remains a major roadblock to reducing suicides. Addressing stigma head-on can encourage workers to get help and reduce suicides.

In this mini-boom toolbox talk, we discuss ways to destigmatize mental health challenges and promote supportive and help-seeking behav...

It is 2025, and BGTS is back with a new episode featuring Emily Haro, CSPP's Outreach and Engagement Coordinator. We discuss her background and 2024 highlights and share news about new CSPP resources and upcoming podcasts for 2025!! 

If you are in need of support or feeling distressed, you can call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, to speak with a trained crisis intervention specialist.

You can also ...

We are thrilled to share our dynamic conversation with Paul Diaz. Paul is a Business Representative with Iron Workers Local 29. With nearly twenty years of experience in ironwork, Paul brings a fascinating, heartfelt, and engaging perspective to mental wellness and suicide prevention. 

In this episode, Paul lays out how Iron Workers Local 29 is promoting suicide prevention, creating a more positive job culture, and forging pathways ...

We are thrilled to share our conversation with George Carrillo. George was the former Executive Director of LatinoBuilt. He is now the Chief Executive Officer of the National Hispanic Construction Alliance. He is a staunch advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with deep expertise in labor relations and union contracts. He works to challenge inequitable policies and actively dismantle institutional norms through strong...

We are excited to share our conversation with Rebecca Garza. Rebecca is a Health Promotion Strategist at the Oregon Health Authority. She supports strategic communications and mobilization initiatives and is the lead for the Rethink the Drink(RTD) brand. Rebecca earned a Master of Science in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice at Boston University School of Medicine. 

Rebecca shared Oregon's innovative approach to ...

We are excited to share our conversation with Adam Garske. Adam Garske is a Project Engineer for Hoffman Construction and the Chairman of the Resource Technology subcommittee within their wellness task force. He provides insightful and personal background information about the needs and rationale behind the GUTS (Getting Us There Safe) room concept. The GUTS room is a versatile space for craftworkers to connect, access services, an...

We are excited to share our conversation with Dr. Leslie Hammer. Dr. Hammer specializes in the effects of workplace conditions, including supportive supervision at work and occupational stress, on workplace mental health and well-being. She is the Associate Director of Applied Research and Professor with the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University and the Co-Director of the Oregon ...

We are excited to share our conversation with Christi Pilutik. Christi is the founder and president of ALTA Consulting. Coming from a long line of construction professionals, she has an intimate knowledge of the unique challenges facing the construction community, including their families, and what it needs to thrive.    

We talked to Christi about simple and realistic steps companies can take to improve their employees' workpl...

We are excited to share our conversation with Hunter Moen. Our long-time listeners will remember that Hunter conceived and is one of the original hosts of Boom Goes the Stigma. Hunter is now the QPR training specialist at Lines for Life. QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) is an evidence-based suicide prevention training program.

During this episode, we reminisce on the early days of the podcast, take a deep dive into exploring QPR&...

We are excited to share our conversation with Pat Daniels, the Founder and Executive Director of Constructing Hope.

Constructing Hope’s mission is to rebuild the lives of people in the Portland community by encouraging self-sufficiency through skills training and education in the construction industry. Constructing Hope provides no-cost, ten-week construction training programs, placement services, and career advancement to low-incom...

The Construction Suicide Prevention Partnership crew has wrapped up recording our next series of podcasts! In this teaser, you will get caught up on what we have been doing since our last season ended and what we have in the hopper moving forward. You'll also get a sneak peek at the guest list for the rest of the season!

 Throughout the fall, we will release new episodes of Boom Goes the Stigma every other Wednesday. We hope yo...

Here is our season one finale episode of Boom Goes the Stigma! We are excited to share our conversation with Dr. John W. McIlvee. Dr. Mcllvee serves as the State Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) for the State of Oregon and is the manager of the Healthcare Professionals Service Program (HPSP). He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, has several years of direct clinical experience in treating patients with alcohol and drug disorde...

We are excited to share our conversation with Dr. Andy Walmsley from Building Wellness, a nonprofit in New Zealand that focuses on supporting mental well-being and reducing suicide rates in the construction industry.   

Dr. Andy’s Ph.D. explored help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among men within the New Zealand construction industry. He chose his Ph.D. topic to offer practical help to address the high rates of suicide within the ...

We are excited to share our conversation with John Hickey, the Executive Director of the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon.  

 In leading the Asphalt Pavement Association, John focuses on maintaining a culture of continuous improvement in the paving industry – which requires working on diverse issues such as pavement design and research, recruiting the next generation of workers, infrastructure funding, and, of course, safety. ...

We are excited to share our conversation with Mike Ellis and Barte Hess from Apollo Mechanical Contractors apollomech.com.

As safety manager for Apollo Mechanical, Mike has developed, taught, and implemented world-class safety programs, leading Apollo to receive numerous site safety awards for injury-free work environments.

Barte is Apollo's Division Health and Safety Manager. He's a husband, dad, and all-around f...

We are excited to share our conversation with Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta. Dr. Dasgupta is a scientist at the Opioid Data Lab at the University of North Carolina with two decades of experience in overdose epidemiology and prevention. Through his unique research approach and ability to tell true stories about health with data and compassion, Dr. Dasupta has become a national leader in reconfiguring how our country addresses the opioid cris...

We are excited to share our conversation with Crystal Larson. Crystal manages Lines For Life's Community Training Program and has been instrumental in implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer), an evidence-based suicide prevention training program, within the construction industry.

Crystal brings an authentic, humorous, and practical viewpoint to suicide prevention training. We talk about overcoming the eye ro...