b'Nonprofit Launches Mobile App to Address IndustryMental Health CrisisThe suicide death rate for construction workers was 2.4Participants of ABCs Florida East Coast chapters times higher than all industries (46.1 vs. 19.5 per 100,000charity arm will post a QR code on jobsites to full time employees) in 2022, the most recently availableconnect workers with healthcare professionals. set of data. There were five times more suicides inconstruction than workplace fatalities that year.These statistics are unacceptable, Peter Dyga, CEO ofABC Cares Foundation, said in the release. Thispartnership is about actionmaking mental healthcare more accessible, which demonstrates ourcommitment to the safety and well-being of theindividuals who build our communities.Factors that contribute to suicide risk in constructioninclude pressure to work quickly with few errors, aThe ABC Cares Foundation has created a mobile app male-dominated workforce population that creates adesigned to address the mental health challenges faced tough-guy mentality, alcohol and drug use, poorby construction workers. access to healthcare, job instability or uncertainty andThe charitable arm of Associated Builders and high injury rates that lead to chronic pain. Contractors Florida East Coast chapter launched the The industry has shone a light on the issue in recentapp on Monday in a partnership with West Palm years, however. In October, CEOs from Bechtel, Fluor,Beach, Florida-based outpatient behavioral health Turner, North Americas Building Trades Unions,specialty group Harm Reduction Center, per a release Kiewit, Clark, DPR, Skanska and Stanley Black &shared with Construction Dive. Decker united to form an advisory council to guide anThe Miami-based ABC Cares Foundation said that the industrywide effort to reduce constructions high rate ofHIPAA-compliant app will provide workers with suicide among workers.prompt, confidential access to mental health services. That announcement came after Bechtel pledged $7Participating construction companies will display QR million to the American Foundation for Suicidecodes on their jobsites, which workers can scan to Prevention in March, the largest-ever donation to theconnect with licensed mental health providers for nonprofit at the time.support. There is a nominal fee for companies enrolling in the By: Zachary Phillipsprogram, said Sonny Maken, COO of ABC Florida EditorEast Coast. The app is designed for individual workerswith insurance, but ABC Cares has secured low ratesfor non-insured workers to ensure affordability of care,Maken said.Upon scanning, workers can schedule in-personappointments within 48 hours. Those appointmentscould include therapy, case management, psychiatriccare and addiction counseling.The app is designed to address the industrys mentalhealth crisis.12'